Local delivery of joined-up services for older people (RR713)
Findings from qualitative research into local areas that have joined up the delivery of services for older people.
Documents
Details
By Mike Robertson and Helen Wilkinson
This report presents findings from qualitative research into local areas that have joined up the delivery of services for older people. This builds on the lessons learnt from LinkAge Plus (funded by the Department for Work and Pensions, 2006-08), in looking at local authority areas that display features of a ‘LinkAge Plus approach’ to service delivery. The findings address why and how local areas have joined up these services, discussing how barriers can be overcome and providing examples of good practice suitable to be shared across the local authority community.
Joining up services in the context of this report is broadly defined as the linking together of service delivery across a range of types of provision as well as across a range of partners.
Partners working together may include:
- local authorities
- other public sector and statutory organisations (for example, fire and rescue services)
- voluntary and community organisations (including charities and social enterprises)
- older people themselves.
This has resulted in a number of innovative ways of working to deliver a wide range of services for older people. The research is based on qualitative interviews and focus groups conducted in eight case study areas in England.