ICSs rolled out across the country from next month

NHS England has announced that patients will have better, more joined up care as Integrated Care Systems are rolled out across the country from next month.

NHS chief executive Sir Simon Stevens has confirmed that the final 13 areas, serving 14.9 million people, will be formally designated integrated care systems (ICSs) from 1 April, hitting a major milestone in the NHS Long Term Plan. It means that a total of 42 ICSs, which bring together hospital, community and mental health trusts, GPs and other primary care services with local authorities and other care providers will cover the whole of England.

The NHS Long Term Plan said Integrated Care Systems would be central to its delivery by bringing together local organisations to redesign care and improve population health, creating shared leadership and action.

ICSs exist to improve the health of all residents, better support people living with multiple and long term conditions, preventing illness, tackling variation in care and delivering seamless services while getting maximum impact for every pound. They bring together the NHS, local government and other organisations including the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sectors.

While the geographical boundaries for the individual systems may evolve during 2021/22 to enable co-terminosity between the NHS and local government, the structures will enable health and care organisations to join forces and apply their collective strength to addressing their residents’ biggest health challenges, many exacerbated by coronavirus.

The 13 new ICS areas are: Cambridgeshire and Peterborough; Mid and South Essex; The Black Country and West Birmingham; Herefordshire and Worcestershire; Northamptonshire; Coventry and Warwickshire; Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland; Lincolnshire; Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin; Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent; Cheshire and Merseyside; Kent and Medway; and Devon.

Stevens said: “Partnership working has been at the heart of the NHS’s remarkable response to the coronavirus pandemic and the NHS vaccination programme. Now GPs, hospitals, pharmacists, local authorities and community groups have also come together to deliver Covid jabs to more than 22 million people across England in a matter of weeks.

“We have seen what the NHS pulling together can do in the most testing period in the health service’s history. The establishment of ICSs across the country will help to ensure that agile approach and can-do attitude endures beyond the pandemic.”

Amanda Pritchard, Chief Operating Officer for NHS England and Improvement, said: “This milestone is a great achievement, which shows the strength of system collaboration across the country. The ICSs have proven their value over the past year and will play an increasingly important role in the restoration, recovery and transformation of services for the benefit of patients and citizens.”