This page will aim to be a collective one-stop resource to bring together all the latest news, events, interviews, feedback, opinions, valuable contacts, partner groups and the newest infrastructure around the ICS and the voluntary sector.

What is the ICS, and what are their key objectives within our region?

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care System (ICS) will replace the CCGs (Community Care Groups).  The ICS brings together HNS organisations and providers, local authorities, and voluntary, community and social enterprise sector (VCSE) organisations to promote, support and improve the health and wellbeing of almost a million people living locally.

Their shared vision developed with its partners focuses on ‘Working together to improve the health and wellbeing of our local people throughout their lives’

Five key objectives

They have set out the following five key objectives in which they need the VCSE sector to help them engage effectively at every level with local patients, communities, stakeholders and national teams:

• Equity – Reduce inequalities in health outcomes
• Opportunity – Create a system of opportunity
• People – Give people more control over their health and wellbeing
• Quality – Deliver a world-class service enabled by research and innovation, and
• Sustainable – Be environmentally and financially sustainable with a resilient workforce.

The ICS, through its Leadership Compact program, stipulates that all partners place their focus on being transparent and inclusive in all decision-making processes.   By putting their ‘People and Communities’ strategy at the centre of all their partnerships, they wish to help build better health and wellbeing, improve service outcomes and reduce inequalities.

The ICS has recognised four crucial areas where they are looking to integrate more closely with its partners in the voluntary sector to help achieve its key objectives. These are:

• Engagement, Involvement and Public Participation — The new structure is looking to encourage people to shape and influence the development and commissioning of local health and care services. It means that the voices of local people will be heard, and their thoughts and experiences will be considered.
• Co-Production — They integrate with local service providers, the voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSE) sector and the community to work together and reach collective outcomes on an equal footing.
• Consultation — They consult with local stakeholders and communities on all matters relating to legal and statutory duties, including significant service changes or closures. Their aim is to involve people, directly or through representatives, in;
  • Planning the provision of services
  • The development and consideration of proposals for changes to the way services are provided, and
  • Decisions are made affecting the operation of services.
• Aims and principles — The ICS is committed to consistently listening to and acting on the experience and aspirations of local people and communities. Their strategic aims include:
  • Help people to sustain and improve their health and wellbeing
  • Involve local people in developing their plans and priorities for the future, and
  • Listen to patients’ views on how we can continually improve their services and ensure better patient experiences and outcomes.

The ICS recognises that local people are at the heart of everything and thus, the NHS has developed a People and Communities strategy based on four key principles which guide how the ICS wish to engage with local people.  Their strategy will also address how they gather intelligence around who uses the health and care services and feedback that experience into their decision-making processes to improve future services.

ICS design principles

• Think Local – everything should be done as near to where people live their lives as possible
• Keep it simple – for residents and staff remove all unnecessary layers that add limited value
• Do it together – Partners integrate to get better results. Including the voluntary sector and small providers.
• Prove it – use evidence to show the impact of what services are used.

The ICS plan to use its ‘Most Capable Provider’ process to understand how we can collectively deliver health and care services to local people and communities.

The proposed structure

Engagement is at the heart of the ICS and the proposed new structure for engagement allows for wider demographic representation and incorporates the expertise of the local authority and district ‘Think Communities’ colleagues, Healthwatch and the VCSE sector.

Assurances related to Public Involvement will be provided through the governance structures of the Integrated Care Board (ICB)

Sitting under the ICB, are five teams that are called Accountable Business Units (ABUs).  These teams, shown below, will take the integrated care even closer to the local population or certain groups of patients:

Visit Accountable Business Unit for further insights.

The launch

Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Integrated Care System (ICS) officially launched on 1 July 2022, marking the start of the new partnership.

On the first day, the ICS held its first meeting of the NHS Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Integrated Care Board (part of the ICS) with governance, operations and engagement at the top of the agenda.