Suspicion and animosity were seriously undermining the relationship between healthcare workers and children's centre staff in Walsall as health visitors were uneasy about delegating tasks to family support workers at centres.
Information sharing was another cause of friction. Health data managers refused to share even general information, even though children's centres and primary care trusts (PCTs) share the same performance indicators.
To address these issues, NHS Walsall and Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council teamed up to create the jointly funded role of health development co-ordinator for children's centres - a post dedicated to healing such rifts.
A year on and the change has been startling, says Carl Britton, head of child, family and extended services support at Walsall's children's services department. "The co-ordinator has been able to organise meetings, bring different professionals together and explain the importance of partnerships and sharing information," he explains.
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