Directorate must focus on service delivery

The Department of Health is to be reorganised into 12
directorates with a single top team working across both health and
social care, it was announced last week.

The reorganisation will remove the previous distinctions between
the NHS executive, the public health group and the social care
group, creating a “delivery-focused” department, said DoH permanent
secretary and NHS chief executive Nigel Crisp.

In a paper on the issue Crisp focuses on “supporting delivery at
the frontline”, including “greater bottom-up local ownership” with
simplified plans which will involve local modernisation reviews
over the summer leading to three-year implementation plans.

“We have to change from a department that is focused on policy
to one that is focused on delivery, says the paper.

It adds that policy implementation will be decentralised to “the
most local level”, including closer working with government
regional offices and encouraging local partnerships to integrate
health and social care services. Current NHS regional directors
will be replaced with regional directors of health and social care
from April 2003.

Of the new directorates, the two of most interest to those in
the social care field will be the children, older people and social
care services directorate, led by Denise Platt, and the public
involvement, nursing, mental health, disability and allied health
professions directorate, led by Sarah Mullally.

Platt’s responsibilities will include health and social services
for older people and children, health services for women and
maternity services, general social care policy, and the social
services inspectorate.

Mullally’s directorate includes mental health policy, services
and legislation, and health and social care for disabled people and
those with long-term conditions.

DoH, Focusing on Delivery available from: www.doh.gov.uk/dhreview/index.htm