The white paper, Working together to improve health and social care for all, published in 2021 outlined four key aims for integrated care systems (ICSs).
- Improving outcomes in population health and healthcare.
- Tackling inequalities in outcomes, experience and access.
- Enhancing productivity and value for money.
- Helping the NHS to support broader social and economic development.
The focus for the North Central London Integrated Care System is on providing care and support that improves the health and wellbeing of everyone living in our boroughs. In North Central London, NHS organisations and the London boroughs of Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey and Islington have been working together as a sustainability and transformation partnership since 2016.
NCL ICS is responsible for planning health and care services in our five boroughs, using the money we receive from NHS England.
The formal establishment of Integrated Care Systems and Integrated Care Boards on 1 July 2022 in many respects put onto a statutory footing what we were already doing in North Central London, across and within our five boroughs.
Despite the challenges of the past few years, we have built stronger partnerships, relationships, and new ways of working as a system across social, primary and secondary care. The pandemic made us think and act more like an ICS, aiming to deliver the best and seamless care for our population throughout the pandemic and our collective system recovery. We had already started focusing work on a number of areas:
- A move to single strategic commissioner for health services.
- Ensuring resident voice is heard at all levels of work.
- Establishing five borough-based partnerships focused on the coordination, integration and development of out of hospital services based on population needs.
- Supporting the development of Primary Care Networks.
- Through our response to and recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic we have worked collaboratively with system partners to tackle challenges and find solutions to meet the needs of local people.
Our plans in North Central London progressed in line with the ICS Design Framework and our plans aligned with all national guidance that was produced. We will continue to work closely with local partners, residents and colleagues at a national level as we continue to develop and evolve our local health and care system.
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