Partnership working in England—where we are now and where we’ve come from

INTRODUCTION: Joint working between health and social care has long been a policy priority in England, with growing interest by the previous New Labour government in achieving ‘joined-up solutions to joined-up problems’. POLICY/PRACTICE: Against this background, this paper reviews lessons from current and previous partnership initiatives, summarising some of the key approaches adopted and exploring key underlying concepts and frameworks. CONCLUSION: Despite a tendency to focus on structural ‘solutions’, evidence and experience suggests a series of more important processes, approaches and concepts that might help to promote more effective inter-agency working—including a focus on outcomes, consideration of the depth and breadth of relationship required and the need to work together on different levels.