Musings, Mechanisms and Models: Exploring Partnerships in Health and Social Care
| Pages | 6-14 |
| Date | 01 September 2002 |
| Published date | 01 September 2002 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/13619322200200023 |
| Author | Alix Crawford,Edward Peck |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care |
Musings, Mechanisms and Models: Exploring
Partnerships in Health and Social Care
Alix Crawford
Service Development Manager
IAHSP
Edward Peck
Director
IAHSP
Framework feature
Introduction
This paper explores the nature of partnership between
the NHS and social services in the mental health field
three years on from the creation of the flexibilities in
the Health Act 1999. In the first section it muses on
some of the conceptual issues that have arisen. The
second looks at the mechanisms – the processes – that
seem to support effective partnership. The third and
final section looks at some of the emerging models, in
particular those being adopted by the initial care trusts
in mental health.
Musings
What do we mean by partnership?
What are the characteristics of a partnership? It has
become apparent that a formal agreement – a contract
– is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for a
partnership. There are three additional features of
partnership that are not encompassed in contracts:
■partnerships do not have a definitive time period
specified at the outset
■partnerships encourage
aspects/outcomes/projects that are a
consequence of the partnership but which
cannot be anticipated at the outset
■partnerships suggest some measure of equality
between the partners.
Using this definition most, if not all, relationships
between the statutory authorities and the ‘for profit
sector’ in the area of community health and social care
– the so-called public/private partnerships – are
contracts and not partnerships at all. It is only in the
relationship between the NHS and social services
departments (and in some cases with other local
government departments and the voluntary sector)
that we see genuine partnerships.
Which partnerships are the most important?
Local government partnership policy focuses on the
role of local authorities as community leaders with
power to promote wellbeing and community
involvement through broad-based strategic
partnerships (what could be termed horizontal
partnerships which seek to increase the range of
agencies involved). NHS partnership policy focuses on
service integration between health and social care
(what could be termed vertical partnerships in which
the emphasis is on ascending the ladder from
independence through interdependence to
integration). Doing both at once is inevitably
problematic, especially when agencies may have
contrasting imperatives (Peck, 2002).
Why do partnerships take so much time to create?
Partnership is perhaps best conceived as a journey. It
is surely no coincidence that the first four care trusts
are located in health action zones. An evaluation of
partnership working in Somerset (Peck, Gulliver &
Towell, 2002) highlighted the importance of the
partners’ relationship history to innovating change. As
the partnership readiness framework (Box 1) suggests,
the journey needs to encompass a number of
destinations in order for robust partnerships to be
created and maintained. Such a journey takes time,
6The Mental Health Review Volume 7 Issue 3 September 2002 ©Pavilion Publishing (Brighton) 2002
To continue reading
Request your trial