The latest development in providing a joined up service between the health board and county councils has started operating from Ruthin.

A Community Resource Team (CRT) will operate out of County Hall, Ruthin, providing a shared base from which simplified and coordinated health and social care can be provided.

The joint project between Denbighshire and Conwy county councils and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board sees community nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, social services, carer assessors as well as third party organisations, primary care teams and mental health workers based together and working together.

The aim is to provide care closer to home, better provision for the population and increase focus and investment on prevention and early intervention.

The service has been operational since February 27.

Cllr Bobby Feeley, Denbighshire County Council’s lead member for Well-being and Independence, said: “I’m delighted we will be operating a CRT service in Ruthin. CRTs allow for collaborative and flexible working between different agencies and services.

“These services will be easily and seamlessly accessible, support independence, and enable better outcomes for people, all of which are priorities for the Council under our Corporate Plan.

“CRTs will also help to prevent unnecessary acute hospital admissions and support discharge from hospital.

“These teams will create a strong, multidisciplinary approach focused on the maintenance of more complex cases in the community.”

Nine local CRT areas have been identified across Denbighshire and Conwy. Denbighshire has four teams Denbigh, Prestatyn, Rhyl and Ruthin.

Ruthin District Nursing team leader Lisa Orhan said: “Simply being based in the same office as our colleagues from the local authority will help us to better coordinate our work, improve coordination and provide a more efficient service for people in Ruthin and south Denbighshire.

“More joined-up working has benefits for everyone, and we’re really looking forward to working in closer partnership with our colleagues from Denbighshire County Council.”