I spent a very useful couple of hours in Northfield Village in Stafford with Philip Atkins and Mike Wilcox, Leader of Lichfield District Council. We were there to demonstrate the type of benefits that can be achieved when people and organisations work together. Wendy Woodward, the District Commissioning Lead for Stafford, was there to give us her experience of being one of the main instigators and guides for the project. The thing that struck me was that this is a very big idea, and very complex, but the thing that probably got it to completion in such good order was Wendy and Phil Brennan’s attention to detail. They worked tirelessly to bring together a wide variety of stakeholders, from the local community to the staff of the existing facilities, politicians, the business leaders whose businesses operate in the development and the developers. Every meeting was preceded by careful planning and consideration of what might be a stumbling block, and how it might be overcome or avoided.
The result is that we have a vibrant facility with a world-class dementia care home, which is sustainable and sits comfortably in the local community. That didn’t happen by chance, and it was no surprise that the Lichfield team left wanting to know how they could have at least one of these in their district. We will of course do so, and we will apply the same level of thinking and planning to this, as we have in Northfield Village.
Attention to detail is one of those things that anybody who has done any military service will remember being taught in basic training. It’s one of the factors that make our armed forces amongst the best in the world. There is of course a balance between focusing on the horizon and the big idea, and spotting the simple pitfall that you’re going to trip over in your next step. It’s clear from most of the activities that we undertake that Staffordshire County Council gets the balance right. As we enter into a new administration in May, of whatever political complexion, and with a leaner and more taut organisation, maintaining that balance will be more important than ever.