Intermediate care: The potential for partnership

Abstract

Intermediate care is emerging as performing an increasingly‐significant function in bridging the care gap between hospital and home. It does not emerge from a policy or service vacuum. Relationships between statutory health and social care services and the voluntary sector have their roots in past practices and separate agendas. The findings from this study indicate that any partnership between the statutory and voluntary sectors in delivering packages of intermediate care will inevitably encounter challenges associated with multi‐level, multi‐professional and multi‐agency collaboration. This article explores these challenges and provides some insight on how to meet them.