Integrated care system and related bodies
The Health and Care Act was passed in April 2022, the legislation made 42 integrated care systems (ICS) legal entities, with statutory powers on 1 July 2022. ICSs are seen by NHS leaders as the future of health and care integration in England and are central to both the NHS Long Term Plan and Health and Care Act.
As well as ICS, you may have also heard the acronyms ICB and ICP but what do they mean, and what’s the difference between them? Each ICS comprises an Integrated Care Board (ICB) and an Integrated Care Partnership (ICP), which will work in tandem to meet the needs of the population they serve. Our ICS is the North Central London ICS (NCL ICS) and covers the regions of five London boroughs: Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Islington and Haringey.
How does the ICS link to ICB and ICP
ICSs are made up of two core statutory elements at system level, where major decisions are taken, and overarching strategies agreed. Click on arrow to read more.
Integrated care system
ICSs are a subregional level of NHS administration (and finance) in England. ICSs bring together NHS, local authority and third sector bodies to take on responsibility for the resources and health of an area or system. Their aim is to deliver better, more integrated care for patients.
Integrated care boards
ICBs are statutory bodies that are responsible for planning and funding most NHS services in the ICS area. ICBs replaced Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG) which did a similar role (although there are important differences between them).
Integrated care partnerships
ICPs are statutory committees that bring together a broad set of system partners – including local government (the council), the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector (VCSE), NHS organisations and others (e.g. local branch of Healthwatch) – to develop a ICS-wide health and care strategy for the area focussed on broader issues such as public health, social care, and the wider determinants of health.
Our Integrated Care System
NCL ICS is a partnership of local authorities and health and care organisations from within the five boroughs of North Central London. Their focus is working together to improve health and wellbeing outcomes for our population. The organisations that provide health, care and voluntary services in Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey and Islington (North Central London) have a collective commitment to deliver changes that will improve the health and wellbeing of residents. The Integrated Care System, is uniquely positioned to elevate VCSE and community voice so that it can shape the development of the health and social care system. They have developed two strategies to demonstrate their commitment to working with local communities and VCSE across North Central London. The four key main aims for the Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) were published in the following whitepaper: Working together to improve health and social care for all, published in 2021. To meet these objectives, ICSs need to reach beyond the NHS to bring together local authorities, VCSE organisations and other local partners. Their key aims are summarised below:
- 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.