Integrated Care Systems go live from 1 July 2022, promising a fundamental change in the way health and care services are planned, paid for, and delivered across England.
A total of 42 Integrated Care Systems (ICS) will be put on a statutory footing from 1 July. Clinical Commissioning Groups will be abolished, with their commissioning powers transferring to the new bodies, in a move towards providing ‘joined-up’ health and care.
The partnership model is intended to bring together health and social care providers and commissioners of NHS services with local authorities and other partners to collectively plan health and care services across specific geographical areas and tackle health and wellbeing inequalities.
The National Care Forum (NCF) has created a range of dedicated resources and information to help social care providers understand, navigate, and improve integration between health and social care as they work together under this new framework.
Bringing together 160 of the UK’s leading social care organisations, the NCF represents organisations that, collectively, deliver more than £2.2 billion of social care and support to more than 217,000 people in 8,300 settings.
The NCF website provides a comprehensive overview of ICS, relevant guidance, and case studies.
NCF CEO Professor Vic Rayner OBE said: “Social care providers, especially not for profit providers, are deeply rooted in their local communities. They bring hugely valuable expertise in meeting the current and future needs of their wider communities, as well as deep insight and understanding of the people and communities they service. It’s therefore essential that social care providers play a central role, alongside other local partners, in the shaping and delivery of health and social care services through the ICS framework. Their knowledge and expertise will ensure that together with their partners they can tackle the deep-rooted health inequalities and improve the health and wellbeing of people who live and work in their area.”
