There is a lot of new terminology related to the reforms set out by the Health and Care Bill. Some of key terminology is explained below.
An Integrated Care System (ICS) brings together the NHS organisations, councils, and wider partners in a defined geographical area to deliver more joined up approaches to improving health & care outcomes.
There are 42 ICSs in England, including Cheshire and Merseyside, which is the second largest in the Country.
From 1 July 2022 the Cheshire and Merseyside ICS will have legal status and will include a statutory Integrated Care Partnership (ICP), and a new NHS body called the Integrated Care Board (ICB). These are described in more detail below.
Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) will be established as new statutory organisations to lead integration within the NHS. The Cheshire and Merseyside ICB will have a unitary board and minimum requirements for board membership will be set in legislation.
The Integrated Care Board will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the NHS in Cheshire and Merseyside, including planning and buying healthcare services.
The current functions of Cheshire and Merseyside’s 9 clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) will be transferred to the Integrated Care Board by 1 July 2022, following their closure.
The Integrated Care Partnership will provide a forum for NHS leaders and local authorities (LAs) to come together, as equal partners, alongside important stakeholders from across Cheshire and Merseyside.
Together, the ICP will generate an integrated care strategy to improve health and care outcomes and experiences for the people in Cheshire and Merseyside, for which all partners will be accountable.
The ICP will be a dedicated forum to enhance relationships between the leaders across the health and care system, interact with and support the development of Place-Based Partnerships.
The ICP here in St Helens is known as St Helens Cares.
The Cheshire and Merseyside ICB will arrange for some of its functions to be delivered, and decisions about NHS funding to be made, in the region’s 9 borough places – through Place-Based Partnerships.
The ICB will remain accountable for NHS resources deployed at borough place-level. Each ICB will set out the role of designated Place-based leaders within its governance arrangements.
Health and Wellbeing Boards (or the People's Board as the Health and Wellbeing Board is known in St Helens) will continue to develop the joint strategic needs assessment and joint health and wellbeing strategy, which both the ICP and ICB will give due regard.
There are two separate Provider Collaboratives for Cheshire & Merseyside.
Both will agree specific objectives with the ICB, to contribute to the delivery of Cheshire and Merseyside’s strategic priorities and are committed to working together to support the delivery of benefits of scale and mutual aid across multiple places or systems.