Integrated Care Organisation – we’ve taken the first step

“It’s been quite a journey but, here we are, just over a month into our new organisation, Salford Health and Social Care.

“It is so important to reflect on what we’ve already achieved over the past two years. Thank you so much for all for your hard work, patience, enthusiasm, contributions and support to get us to this point.

“There have of course been a few teething problems, but we’re working through these with IM&T colleagues at Salford Royal and Salford City Council – and the dust is beginning to settle.

“Many of our adult social care staff attended a series of ‘onboarding’ sessions at Salford Royal early in July. We found out, among other things, about the ‘#hello my name is…’ campaign, which the ICO has adopted as part of developing its person-centred approach to care and is such an important part of the culture of adult social care.

“So, what comes next?

“We are all going to find that we have lots to learn from each other over the next weeks, months and years. We are in an excellent position to do this: until you talk to people from other areas in the country, it’s difficult to appreciate quite how special the relationships are that we already have across organisations and between colleagues. We would not even have been talking about an ICO without those relationships and now that we’re here, we have the chance to make them even stronger, to benefit Salford people.

“As health and social care staff, we all carry a wealth of knowledge, skills and experience with us. We have all contributed to improving outcomes, quality of life and independence of so many Salford citizens.

“This is a good time to reflect and to build new relationships with our colleagues and maintain relationships with partners. We know that you are committed to supporting one another within your teams and across services.

“As we explore opportunities for transformation we want you to feel supported to contribute in every possible way, so please do let us know if you have any thoughts and ideas on how to improve services and support each other going forward.”