Joe Warner is the Chief Executive of Focus Independent Adult Social Work Practice, a not-for-profit company providing all of the statutory social work duties and the commissioning of social care in North East Lincolnshire. The Council is unusual in that adult social care is delegated completely to the CCG under a S75 agreement, Focus, in turn, has a partnership agreement with the CCG and Joe is a member of the CCG’s governing body, which gives him a unique perspective on the interface between health and social care, and the potential benefits and risks of integration. Joe qualified as a Social Worker in 1987 and has worked in senior management roles in Local authorities, CCGs and the independent sector for over 15 years. In 2016 Joe set up a new in-reach hospital discharge team based on the principles that social workers should not be based in the hospital (to ensure they maintained their unique skill set and stayed in touch with local community resources) and that each person requiring social work support would be seen within 24 hours of admission (removing the need for admission and discharge notices and ensuring planning for discharge begins as early as possible).
