Care England expands to bring ICSs and local care services together

Care England expands to bring ICSs and local care services together

Care England, the largest and most diverse representative body for independent adult social care providers in England, has today announced the expansion of its membership to include Integrated Care Systems (ICS).

Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England, says:

“This new branch of the Care England membership will foster dynamic relationships between care providers and their ICS leaders to improve the integration between health and social care and bring system partners together. Social care providers are critical to the success of a truly integrated care system. Attempts to integrate health and social care have been a national priority for several decades, with limited success. ICSs represent a newfound opportunity and Care England is delighted to take this step to maximise opportunities for success and help overcome barriers that have halted historical integration. We want to ensure the Government’s commitment to catalysing greater integration is met with meaningful change. A truly integrated health and social care system can improve outcomes and experiences of care.”

Through Care England membership, Integrated Care Systems will have access to a wide range of critical sector resources:

• Care England’s Market Intelligence System is a unique database that will provide ICSs insight into local care markets, enhancing their understanding of the sector and enabling economic development.
• Frequent and meaningful bulletins from Care England aimed at providing visibility and commentary on policy areas, whilst sharing best practice from neighbouring care providers and system leaders giving an ICS access to a vast portfolio of new resources.
• Regular innovative workshops hosted by Care England providing ICSs with opportunities to gather information to tackle pressure points, and also develop relationships with providers that operate in their local area.

From service inception to the commissioning of care to local authority review, through access to the Care England ICS Membership, Integrated Care Systems will have full oversight of the delivery of social care. Membership resources will support ICSs in meeting the Government’s health targets of reducing the NHS backlog and improving health inequalities. Care England’s online brochure provides a full overview of the Care England ICS Membership. In the coming weeks, Care England will host a set of regional roundtables for ICS leaders and Care England members to attend and further foster dynamic relationships between the health and care sector. Find out more about these events here.

Care England’s care providers members will also benefit from this new initiative and experience the newfound benefit of greater partnerships and collaboration with system-level leaders. To find out more about being a Care England member, please click here.

Martin Green continues:

“Care England’s new ICS Membership is a platform for both ICS leaders and care providers to stimulate collaboration and enable local partners to work more closely together to produce meaningful outcomes. The divide between the health and social care system has been deep-rooted, stemming back to the 1948 settlement, but our health and care needs cannot be differentiated so neatly. By becoming Care England members, ICSs will gain greater insight into understanding a care provider’s operational procedures, their day-to-day business and what fundamental policies must be implemented to overcome historic barriers that have prevented integration in the past. As the largest representative body for adult social care providers, Care England is best placed to ensure ICSs can connect and work collaboratively with the vast and dynamic care services that deliver invaluable support.”