is a style of play in which positions are fluid and the collective comes above the individual. Developed in the 1970s, its influence can be traced from the Netherlands to Barcelona to Manchester City, whose manager, Pep Guardiola, is a devotee of Johan Cruyff, the style’s most celebrated practitioner. Less well known is that it is also, according to Jon Rouse, the chief officer of the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, the model for the city’s new health-care system.
. Mr Rouse’s organisation—which includesinstitutions, councils and community groups—was set up and put in charge of the city’s £6bn health and social-care budget. Its role includes overseeing ten “local care organisations”, which in turn put together teams to look after areas of 30,000-50,000 people, identifying the most vulnerable and intervening early to prevent emergency admissions. Devolution of these powers created the chance for a big shift in how the health service operates.
Combining health and social care has produced some successful tie-ups. From the basement of Dukinfield town hall in Tameside, a team of local-authority workers has long provided support to almost 4,000 elderly people, who can summon them at the touch of a button. Prior to devolution, the head of a local hospital didn’t know the service existed, says Mr Pleasant. But it has now teamed up with theto beam clinicians in via Skype when tending to call-outs.