Monday, 12 November 2007
LINks Let Loose at Last
Readers familiar with our LINks tracking (September - What next for LINks - Local Involvement Networks? and December 2006 -Greater LINks Spotted At Large and Unfenced) will be heartened to hear that after summer sightings, the noble beastie himself bounded free of his Westminster confines and is now on the loose having been royally assented to on 30th October just a hop, skip and jump before Parliament's prorogation.
LINks rode in on the coat tails of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 - a signal that PPI in future will be as much about social care as it has been about health. By April next year - is this wishful thinking by Government? - 150 LINks are due to replace the more numerous existing Patient and Public Involvement in Health Fora. Their work will be backed by £84m over three years flowing through local authorities to the "Link Hosts" which each Council must procure in their area. This is a daunting challenge but some Councils are well down the road on this already. To see how our local Council in Wandsworth is getting on have a look here.
The devil may be in the detail, or in this case the LINks regulations being consulted upon until December 21st - www.dh.gov.uk/en/Consultations/Liveconsultations/DH_078794 One thing is clear: LINks will not be PPIFs rebranded. The LINk beastie's pawmarks will be all over social care as well as health. Councils should respond by merging their scrutiny arrangements for these sectors each with their own histories and cultures.
Working with LINks for the NHS and Local Authorities could be akin to "riding the tiger" - a bit scary at first, but safer to stay on than to get off and it gets easier with experience. The trick will be to get the DNA of both health and social care to leap the species barrier so that we have an effective new creature that works across the spectrum of services as users experience them. We shall all have to get better at this and quickly. Watch this space.