ABSTRACT
In July 2000, the government's NHS Plan (DoH, 2000) set out a blueprint for the reform of English health services. Described by the Prime Minister and the Health Secretary as 'radical' and 'far reaching' (pp 9-16), The NHS Plan promised sub stantial extra investment in NHS facilities and staff and proposed significant changes in the organisation and delivery of healthcare. While most of the 144-page document focused on internal NHS issues, a four-page chapter on 'Changes between health and social services' examined the way in which the health service and local authorities were working together to provide co-ordinated services for people with both health and social care needs.
