Integrated Care Partnership
Friday 1 July 2022 marked the beginning of a new era for health and care services across Lancashire and South Cumbria as the way services are planned, paid for and delivered changed to better meet the needs of local people.
An integral part of the new system within Lancashire and South Cumbria is the Lancashire and South Cumbria Health and Care Partnership (known nationally as an Integrated Care Partnership). It will be an equal partnership of NHS, local government and others such as business, education, Healthwatch and voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) organisations who have a role in addressing the health, social care and public health needs of their communities, and ensure the public’s voice is at the heart of decision making.
The newly established Integrated Care Board (ICB) and the upper tier Local Authorities have a statutory duty to establish the Partnership together, and are working collaboratively during this set up phase on the membership, terms of reference, meeting arrangements and a development plan for the year ahead. It is important to take time to develop and understand the role and priorities of the partnership as well as its interface with the rest of the system (how it will work with the ICB, Local Authorities, Place-Based Partnerships and Health and Wellbeing Boards).
Throughout the next few months, the partnership will review the needs of local communities to determine and propose a set of system-wide priorities. These will focus on the most complex issues that cannot be solved by individual organisations. They will form the basis of a joint health and care strategy (Integrated Care Strategy). This development process will include design and engagement sessions with partners, stakeholders and our communities, to ensure that the needs of local communities are met within the priorities and strategy. This work will be completed by December 2022 and we will keep you updated as we progress.