The council share this latest news. Ed
Following an extensive and robust recruitment process, the Isle of Wight Council has appointed Dr Carol Tozer as its new permanent Director of Adult Social Care (DASS).
Dr Tozer will join the Isle of Wight Council on 1 December 2016. This ends a period of two years of interim leadership arrangements for the service.
Extensive experience
Dr Tozer is an experienced senior leader in both health and adult social care services, and has worked in senior roles at a number of other local authorities including Southampton, Cornwall and Torbay.
She has also led as the Chief Officer for the combined Health and Social Services Department for the States of Guernsey, was the Executive Director of Services for the national disability charity, Scope, and previously worked on secondment as a Director at the Department for Health.
Responsibilities
In her role, Dr Tozer will fulfil the statutory role for the Island’s Adult Social Care services, which supports the needs of the local adult population requiring care services. As DASS, Dr Tozer will be responsible for the following functions:
- Accountability for assessing local needs and ensuring availability and delivery of a full range of adult social services
- Professional leadership, including workforce planning
- Leading the implementation of standards
- Managing cultural change
- Promoting local access and ownership and driving partnership working.
Dr Tozer will also be responsible for continuing to integrate the council’s adult social care services with local health services.
Dr Tozer will replace Interim Director of Adult Social Services, Claire Foreman, who has held the role since April 2016.
Thanks for interim leadership
Chief Executive of the Isle of Wight Council, CEO John Metcalfe, said:
“Great strides have been taken already in ensuring that we have a safe and effective adult social care service and to integrating the Island’s adult social care services with health services, especially over the past few months under the interim leadership of Claire Foreman.
“I would like to thank Claire for bringing her extensive experience to the role and to all of our adult social care staff for the way in which they have responded to her strong leadership.”
He went on to say,
“I look forward to welcoming Carol next month and am sure she will build on the strong foundations now in place.
“The integration and streamlining of our local adult and health services is critical to the Island in helping us to provide effective, relevant and accessible services to our community. The task is vast; not least achieving the best value for every Island pound spent, ensuring that vulnerable people are safeguarded and that the wellbeing of Island residents is a priority.
“Carol has a broad range of experience and skills that she will bring to this role and has already worked within integrated health and social care models of delivery. I am sure this will help her to be successful in the role and I look forward to working with her to progress and enable effective integration of Island services.”
Island at the forefront of thinking creatively
Dr Tozer is looking forward to moving to the Island with her husband, and states:
“As a national Vanguard site, the Island is already at the forefront of thinking very differently and creatively about how to best meet the health and social care needs of local people through integrated health and social care provision, as well as a renewed focus on early help and prevention.
“From my own experience, this is vital in improving people’s health and wellbeing whilst simultaneously responding positively to the highly challenging financial scenarios faced by the council and local NHS. So I am very much looking forward to working with colleagues and partners, and especially those people served by health and social care services and their families, in implementing the vision that is already in place.”
Image: garryknight under CC BY 2.0
