Health & Social Care Bid Writers

Commissioners and service providers are under increasing pressure to deliver innovative, community-based, person-centred services, against the backdrop of ever decreasing budgets. This pressure will increase, with life expectancy in the UK steadily rising, treatments prolonging life (yet not mitigating against frailty), and the current social care funding gap likely to rise from £7.1 billion to £14.4 billion by 2031.

To make better use of public resources and services, the Government plans to increase integration between health and social care services, as set out in the Health and Care Act 2022, (also called the Health and Care Bill).

On 1st July 2022, 42 statutory ‘Integrated Care Systems’ were established across England, resulting in the abolition of Clinical Commissioning Groups, who held NHS England’s responsibility for primary care commissioning. For each area, Integrated Care Systems’ (ICS) consist of:

• Integrated Care Partnership: Joint committee of NHS integrated care board and all upper-tier local authorities, alongside other locally determined representatives (e.g., social care or housing providers). Each ICP is responsible for producing an integrated care strategy on how to meet the health and wellbeing needs of the population
• Integrated Care Board: Boards undertake the function of CCGs, managing the NHS Budget and provision of health services in the ICP area
• Local Authorities: responsible for social care and public health functions
• Place-based Partnerships: NHS, local councils, community and voluntary organisations, residents, people who use services and carers, who lead the detailed design and delivery of integrated services across their localities
• Provider Collaboratives: cross-ICS collaboration, to improve quality, efficiency, outcomes, and address variation and inequalities in access and experience across different providers