An integrated care system is when all organisations involved in health and social care work together in joined-up ways to deliver against four core objectives.
- Improve outcomes (population health and care).
- Tackle inequalities in outcomes and access.
- Enhance productivity and value for money.
- Support broader social economic development.
In Kent and Medway, all the NHS organisations and the Kent and Medway councils have been working together as a sustainability and transformation partnership (STP) since 2016. We became the Integrated Care System in April 2021.
From July 2022, the Kent and Medway Integrated Care System has been given a statutory role. The same change has happened across England.
You can read the full Kent and Medway Integrated Care Strategy on our Publications and FOI page.
Within the Kent and Medway Integrated Care System there are two, more local, levels of partnerships to improve health and care services for residents.
- Four health and care partnerships drawing together all provider NHS organisations in a given area and working more closely with social care.
- Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley
- East Kent
- Medway and Swale
- West Kent
- Forty-one primary care networks across Kent and Medway. A primary care network (PCN) includes groups of general practices working together, and in partnership with community, mental health, social care, pharmacy, hospital and voluntary services in their local area, to offer more personalised, coordinated health and social care to the people living in their area.
At every level our aim must be to drive improvement in health and wellbeing for the people of Kent and Medway.
By working together more effectively across health and care integrated care systems will bring benefits for both local residents and the staff working in our teams.
- More support to stay fit and well before things become a problem.
- Better access to the care you need, when you need it, in a way that suits you: Evenings, weekends, over the phone, by video link or face-to-face with a physio, nurse, clinical pharmacist, GP, or support from a non-medical service.
- More focus on your physical and mental health and wellbeing – on what matters to you, not the condition or disease you may have.
- More care out-of-hospital, with staff working together as a single team across organisations to help people stay as well as possible and get the care they need when they need it.
- Better identification of the issues that need tackling and a real focus on quality services, wherever they are provided.
- Higher job satisfaction; working in teams is less isolated and more rewarding.
- Better work/life balance with each professional able to focus on what they do best.
- Greater resilience and less risk of burnout.
- Greater influence on how resources are used to best effect for patients.