This article begins a series of three about making a reality of integration policy in health and social care at individual, functional and cultural levels.
The paper outlines messages from policy debate and the Adult Social Care White Paper about the benefits to individuals and carers of improvements in integration. It follows the progress of a 91‐year‐old widow during a recent six‐week stay in hospital, and the difficulties she and her daughter encountered through professional and service faultlines and information blocks.
The paper questions the White Paper proposal for named professionals to coordinate care for people with complex needs, and argues that the benefits of integration will not be achieved without a significant change of culture. It outlines later papers exploring a functional model of integration, and examining the implications of culture change for the relationships between health and social care, between professionals and individuals, and between the Department of Health and the health and care system.
In “placing the individual at the centre”, the article grounds a series linking the newly‐published Care and Support White Paper and the emerging NHS reform programme to examine changes needed if integration is to benefit individuals and carers.
