NHS reorganisation aims to integrate health and care services
Staff will work together in bodies called Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) – the King’s Find has produced a 6-minute video which explains the background.
The new way of working should make it easier to deliver health and care services to people who need support, especially those who need both health and care services. One goal is to catch serious conditions earlier, and so save lives, as well as treating people when they are ill or have had an accident.
The changes are also set to save an estimated £14 million each year by reducing the number of chief executives working in the NHS by almost 170.
Louise Ansari, national director at Healthwatch England said:
“We are committed to playing our part, helping create a true partnership between services and the public. A partnership where communities are represented at every level of decision-making, those facing the greatest inequalities are heard and there is an ongoing conversation about how we can make care better together.”
South West London ICS is committed to funding joint work between the different Healthwatches in the area – Croydon, Sutton, Kingston, Wandsworth, Richmond and Merton – so that we can continue to be a voice for local patients in this new and larger structure. Healthwatches will also be represnted on the new Partnership Board. We hope to tell you more soon about how we’ll be taking that work forward.
