Making it happen in Allerdale and Copeland

In line with the Framework Agreements, the West Cumbria Joint Management Team (JMT) was formed in 2002, consisting of managers from all sectors of health services, social care services and voluntary organisations.  In the early stages of work on integration in West Cumbria it was decided to focus development work around 7 natural communities or ‘localities’:

• Millom;
• South Copeland;
• Whitehaven;
• Workington;
• Cockermouth;
• Maryport; and
• Wigton.

Within these areas to align community nursing and social work teams to gradually develop integrated care teams to meet local needs.

Each locality established a multi-agency team, whose members could include social workers, district nurses, community hospital staff, mental health team members, the voluntary sector, residential/nursing care providers, domiciliary care providers, acute hospital etc.  Each locality team had identified leads from health and social services, and the leads reported back to the West Cumbria Joint Management Team, which provided the overall direction. The locality teams were seen as pivotal in feeding ideas up to the JMT to meet the particular needs of their locality.

The JMT selected two sites to push forward on a stage one of integration, namely Millom/South Copeland and Wigton/Solway Plain, and these sites tested out an Integrated Care Management Training Pack developed by St Martin’s College.

In November 2004, Cumbria County Council's Adult Social Care appointed a temporary Integration Implementation Manager (West), with a remit to:

• facilitate the development of the integrated health and social services teams in the stage one sites (Millom/South Copeland and Wigton/Solway Plain) and
• promote integration across the West Division, working closely with the Service Development Manager for West Cumbria PCT.

Workshops around the St Martin's training pack were completed in the stage one sites, but plans to roll out to other areas have been put on hold since the major and ongoing restructuring of the North Cumbria Primary Care Trusts from mid 2005 onwards.

While the emphasis of the Change Agent Review and Framework Agreements has been on older people, the review of services for younger adults with a physical disability and their carers has highlighted the need to look at widening out the principles of a whole systems approach to adults of all ages.

Localities are currently being reviewed into Locality Delivery Groups as part of the new Cumbria Joint Management Team structure.