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Health minister Alan Milburn called on the allied health professions to lead the way in breaking down traditional barriers between health and social care, writes Lauren Revans.

Speaking at a department of health conference on healthcare leadership in the 21^st century, Milburn told speech therapists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and other professionals allied to health that they were ideally located to encourage more joint working.

"In the way that you work with your colleagues in social care you can develop a joint approach so the user of the services should really no longer be able to distinguish between what is health and what is social," Milburn said.

"You can use the opportunities of your role in the new primary care trusts to put in place a single process for assessing a person’s need met by one professional rather than a multitude of agencies. And you can help develop new community-based services across the traditional divides that have separated the NHS, local government and the private and voluntary sectors," he said.

Hinting that his department would be in line for additional funds when the outcome of the comprehensive spending review is announced in the summer, Milburn stressed that extra investment in health and social care would be "conditional on more reform".

"If more money is available for social services as well as for health services – as I believe there needs to be – there must be no more excuses for shifting responsibility for people who are old, or disabled, or mentally ill backwards and forwards between the two sectors.

"Joint working must become the norm for all and not just for some. The powers to pool budgets, and to form care trusts so that health and social care functions can merge really must be taken up."

Milburn said the government would also explore other "new incentives" to encourage closer working and bring an end to "buck-passing" and "cost-shifting".

He said he was aware of the real pressures social services departments were under and that "more investment still is needed".

"That is necessary not least to stabilise the care home crisis and to develop new rehabilitation, intermediate and home care services that can actively promote independence," he said.