I was asked to speak at the community and adult services workshop today. There was about 40 managers present, many of whom I have met in my recent travels around the county.

These managers are clearly extremely well motivated and had a number of excellent success stories to tell. Why do we not share this success more widely? One for our comms team I suspect.

It was an opportunity to drive home how important it is to work within a budget which, given the predicted overspend, is top of my list to sort out. Excellent care alone is no longer enough.

I was keen to stimulate innovative thinking and to challenge the status quo. This will be necessary to provide an effective service against a background of reducing budgets and increased demand. The feedback to me indicated that the team are up for the challenge.