Health and Wellbeing Boards: The new system stewards?
Health and Wellbeing Boards: The new system stewards?
Health and Wellbeing Boards (HWBs) emerged from debates about the Health and Social Care Bill (2011) as a key coordinating mechanism or steward for local health and social care systems. For many this is yet a further attempt to improve coordination between health and social care services which historically has been a mixed experience. The rationale for HWBs, however, includes a broader coordinating function across local authority services with a role in addressing the wider social determinants of health such as housing, education and planning, as well as social care. This chapter examines the development of HWBs and draws on the findings of studies conducted by the authors and considers whether or not HWBs are emerging as system stewards. By this the authors mean HWBs acting at a strategic level to coordinate and set the direction of health and social care developments at the local level, as well as encouraging integrated working.
Keywords: Health and Wellbeing Boards, social care systems, health, local authority, determinants of health
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