Herefordshire has gained wide recognition for its pioneering development of enhanced partnership working between its unitary council and primary care trust.

Herefordshire Council and NHS Herefordshire’s partnership is now very well established - with a single chief executive and senior management team across both organisations and a number of integrated teams already operating beyond the more traditional health & social care areas – but there is much still to do.

Sharing a vision to work together to achieve efficient, excellent and value for money services and improved outcomes for local people we are jointly planning, commissioning, designing and delivering integrated services around the individual needs of patients and customers. We have clear priorities for improving further the quality of life in one of the most beautiful areas of the country; and we have shared values that put people at the heart of everything we do. However we still need talented people to help us bring those values to life for local residents, leading change within a national climate of reducing finances.

We are proud of our innovative approach, and you will have the opportunity to play a leading role in developing this innovation further. You will oversee a rich variety of essential corporate functions – from ICT, HR, legal and democratic services to customer services – and you will support me in developing and maintaining effective partner relationships. You will be able to demonstrate clear leadership in achieving further integration and organisational change, driving forward the way we share services locally to deliver real efficiencies, re-engineering our business practices and establishing a new performance culture across both organisations and the wider local partnership.

Enhanced partnership working is now seen by many other areas as one of the key ways they can respond to the new financial challenges we are all facing. Whilst similar partnerships across the UK will be following the Herefordshire model I hope you will want to be part of the lead we are taking and work with us, to ensure our unique vision continues to deliver real benefits for the people of Herefordshire.

Chris Bull
Chief Executive of Herefordshire Council and NHS Herefordshire