The aim of this study, which was nested in a larger evaluation project, was to explore the experiences and perspectives of healthcare professionals to understand the implementation of a step-down IC service in Buckinghamshire, UK. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
This rapid review synthesizes evidence about the experiences of users and providers of community-based accommodation services for people living with serious mental illness internationally to understand priorities for policy and practice. Open access article - no login required.
"We interviewed commissioners and service providers in six local areas to find out how they experienced the process of receiving additional funds, making plans, and delivering and monitoring the plans in winter 2022–23."
"Local heath and care systems lack a shared understanding of the causes of hospital discharge delays in their area and of the best ways of tackling them, says a report from The King’s Fund.
The report, Hospital discharge funds: experiences of winter 2022-23, looked in-depth at six health and care systems. The authors spoke to local authorities, integrated care system leads, acute trusts, Healthwatch and local care provider associations.
Despite system partners saying that relationships were good, the report finds they were often insufficient to develop a shared understanding of the causes of delays or to bring about meaningful, co-ordinated action to reduce delays."
In our work on Understanding integration, The King’s Fund and the Picker Institute developed a guide for health and care partners to come together to better understand and learn from the views and lived experience of people and communities, in the spirit of delivering genuinely integrated care. Centred around 10 principles, the guide was designed to help systems to work to co-ordinate services around what matters to people and communities.
Over the past year, The King’s Fund has been working with NHS England and the HOPE network to design and develop projects drawing on the principles and ways of working outlined in the guide. The HOPE network provides peer learning and support opportunities for leaders within NHS trusts with responsibility for patient experience.
This briefing focuses on how to improve access to out-of-hospital care, including GPs, social care, community services and community mental health services.
In October 2021 the government announced plans for new community diagnostic centres (CDCs) across England. The ambition was that these centres would provide people with increased and more convenient access to diagnostics tests, and would lead to earlier diagnosis and reduce pressure on hospitals. Two years on, with 127 centres open and 1,563,400 patients waiting for a diagnostic test as of the end of August 2023, how are community diagnostic centres getting on and what challenges are they facing?
In this paper the authors focus on one Discharge to Assess service and analyses the perspectives and experiences of those involved in its delivery within systemic analysis framework.
In this paper, the authors demonstrate that a utilitarian argument can be made for investment in better support for inclusion health groups despite their small size. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Services to keep children out of hospital, known as hospital at home or virtual wards, are set for a major expansion across the NHS after a string of successful pilot schemes. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Specific Timely Appointments for Triage (STAT) provides a practical, low-cost, data-driven approach to tackling waiting times. This study demonstrates its effectiveness in paediatric therapy services and provides evidence for a ‘hub and spoke’ approach to facilitate implementation that could be provided at scale. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
ICB leaders need to ensure prevention is at the heart of ICSs’ mission and purpose, create opportunities for district councils to lead, and use district councils to trial new place-based projects.
the advent of integrated care systems is being seen as an opportunity to work more closely with the communities they serve. And yet, despite all this, work with people and communities, can still feel like ‘a nice to have’ rather than being core to the business of the health and care system. For those of us working on this agenda it can feel like pushing a rock up a hill.
The submission focuses on the main challenges facing community services in seven key areas:
the profile and understanding of the sector
funding
reorganisation
workforce shortages
primary care networks and community services
learning from the new models of care programme
Jordan Reid sat down with Caroline Rollings, wellbeing lead for the National Association of Primary Care, to find out about the work she’s been doing to support staff wellbeing in primary care.
The much-anticipated Hewitt Review into the oversight, governance and accountability of integrated care systems (ICSs) landed last week, to surprisingly little fanfare and a somewhat muted reception. To anyone that has followed the path of the review since its launch in November 2022, it will come as no surprise that it is both comprehensive in its breadth and that it draws on extensive engagement with the sector and key partners, for which the review team and its leadership should be given due credit. Reflecting this, the final document weighs in at a hefty 89 pages. So, standing back from the detail, what are the key take-aways?
The debate about whether general practice should be organised through an independent contractor model (GP partnerships) or whether it should be provided by staff salaried within an NHS organisation is as old as the NHS itself.
This report provides an overview of the key actions required to tackle barriers and challenges to better partnership working between integrated care systems (ICS) and the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector. It identifies ways of working that can help mitigate barriers and facilitate solutions, and systemic actions that can help embed and spread good practice.
As we publish our new report on addressing barriers to partnership working with the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector, Helen Gilburt takes a look at three fundamental principles needed to create change.
Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System (ICS), like many ICSs across England, wants to improve population health and tackle inequalities. Having articulated this aspiration and set up a Population Health and Health Equity Academy in May 2022, in partnership with The King’s Fund, it has taken the first steps to making this a reality by developing its primary care workforce. In this long read, we outline key aspects of the approach taken in Lancashire and South Cumbria, and share reflections that may help others undertaking a similar journey.