Integrated Working Thinkpiece
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Our latest thinkpiece on Integrated working is brought to you by Dr Jane Spouse. Jane is theDeputy Director for the Department for Children and Young People at South Gloucestershire County Council.
Whilst I could never claim to be an expert, my sailing experience comes in handy for journeys. I’m used to knowing where we want to get to and then making certain we take into account tide, wind and weather to work out the best direction to take. I’m used to the recognition of the individual strengths of the small crew, and the good sense it makes to use these to the full. I never take for granted the delights: a cast of light which sharpens a crumpled sea, the pleasing fullness of the curve of the sail. I’m used to the odd tense moment when a piece of kit stops working, and having to think back to the basic function to rig a (sometimes surprising) alternative. I’m used to being patient about finding a spot where the anchor will hold. And I love the zing of that welcome gin and tonic when we’re safely snugged up for the night and before we start planning the next day.
When we started on our journey towards integration we weren’t really certain of the destination, but the reasons for making it were convincingly persuasive. The time we spent defining where we wanted to get to was incredibly valuable. We knew we would eventually move to co-location with partners sometime in the future and the practicalities were (and are) complex. We knew the importance of our different professionals and the specialist teams, high quality and highly valued, but we also knew that working together better could bring many additional benefits.
I looked back at the notes from our first multi-agency meetings, days spent considering the direction and variables that needed to be addressed, charting the progress we wanted to make through formal processes and informal opportunities, learning from visits to the trail blazers and their experiences. I recall the reassuring commitment from those at the highest levels in partner organisations; I compare the range of colleagues I know now with the limited sphere of those earlier days, and I relish the innovative ways in which these more recent partners have shown they make a contribution. I won’t forget the awful moment when a small but significant element of a training day had been poorly conceptualised and probably set us all back, or the courage with which colleagues met the challenges and held their course into the detailed action with their teams.
The first of the locality teams will be in their new shared and purpose built accommodation in the Autumn and we’ll be looking both for the strengthening of links within and across providers in our communities and the strengthening of local voices, particularly those of children and young people as the networks develop. We’ll make certain we stop for a little celebration before the next leg of the journey!
Dr Jane Spouse, Published 13.03.09
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