People should be at the centre of care, not left to hold disconnected services together. Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England, explores how shared purpose, trust and clear responsibility can turn separate organisations into a dependable network of support.
Care works best when people and services connect around the person receiving support. Yet health, social care, charities and community groups, often operate in separate systems. Each may do valuable work, but when communication breaks down, people can be passed from service to service, repeat their story and struggle to get the support they need. Building a care ecosystem means replacing isolated pathways with relationships that make joined-up support possible.
The first step is to create a shared purpose. Partners need a clear understanding of what they are working towards, and the measures of success must be aligned and shared by every organisation. The outcomes that we are trying to achieve must be shaped with people who use services, their families and communities – not defined solely by organisations. A shared purpose gives different teams a reason to collaborate while respecting their distinct roles.
It is extremely important to build trust through regular human contact. Networks are not created by drawing an organisational chart or launching a shared online platform. They grow when people know one another, understand each other’s pressures and can have honest conversations. Joint planning sessions, community meetings, peer learning and informal introductions help turn unfamiliar services into trusted partners. Leaders should make time for these relationships and recognise collaboration as part of everyone’s job. Job description should be developed to reflect this reality.
Clear communication is essential. Partners need agreed ways to share relevant information safely, make referrals and respond when someone’s needs change. But information-sharing should support relationships, not replace them. A warm handover, where one professional introduces a person directly to another, can be more helpful than sending someone away with a phone number. Wherever possible, people should not have to coordinate the system. Sadly, there are currently too many cases where the service user must act as the glue between the system, rather than being at the centre of service delivery
Networks also need coordination. A named contact, link worker or small multidisciplinary team can help connect services around a person’s priorities. This does not mean every organisation must merge or follow identical processes. It means making responsibilities visible, agreeing who will take the next step and ensuring someone notices when support is missing. Flexibility matters and people’s needs rarely fit neatly into organisational boundaries.
Power should be shared as well. Smaller organisations often have deep local knowledge, while larger institutions, such as the NHS, may control funding, data and decisions. Genuine partnership means involving people we support and key stakeholders from the earliest stages of planning, and compensating people for their expertise and giving people real influence – not simply asking them to endorse plans already made. It also means recognising that trust, belonging and practical help can be as important as formal services.
Finally, measure if the network makes life better. Count not only appointments or referrals, but whether people feel heard, experience fewer gaps and can achieve what matters to them. Review what is working together, learn from missed connections and change the arrangements when they create more bureaucracy than benefit.
A strong care ecosystem is not a single organisation or a new structure. It is a dependable web of people and services that communicate, share responsibility and stay focused on the person. Networks take effort to build, but they make care more coherent and responsive, and help prevent people from falling through the gaps between silos.
