6: Interprofessional Risk Practice and Co-creation of Value in the Public Sector

Throughout the book we have covered information which is clearly and directly related to risk assessment and risk management within public sector risk practice. This final chapter represents a slight shift in focus, but one which is becoming an essential consideration in modern risk practice working, regardless of whether this is in the public or private sector. It is also a topic that we have been referring to either explicitly or implicitly throughout each chapter: interprofessional risk practice. In this chapter we will explore what is meant by interprofessional working. We will explore why this matters in risk assessment and management and what the benefits of interprofessional working are from a theoretical perspective in relation to co-creation of value. We will then move to a practice-focus, discussing the implications, barriers and facilitators of interprofessional working for real-world practice. We will also present case studies discussing excellent examples of interprofessional practice in complex topic areas across several public sector professions. The chapter concludes with a reflection and discussion around pathways to successful interprofessional risk practice, bringing together the themes that we have discussed throughout the book.