Our NENC Partnership Programme Engagement Manager, Siobhan Flynn investigates the value of involving the VCSE within the ICS.
What is the ICS?
Integrated Care Systems (ICS) bring together providers and commissioners of NHS services, local authorities and other local partners - including the VCSE sector – to collectively plan health and care services to meet the needs of its population.
Our local ICS is the North East and North Cumbria ICS. Our ICS cares for around 3 million people and covers the largest geographical area of all the 42 ICSs throughout the country. In the North East and North Cumbria we have high levels of unemployment, low levels of decent housing, the highest rate of child poverty in the country and significant areas of deprivation. All of these things contribute towards stark health inequalities, early death rates and the highest sickness levels in England.
North Cumbria Clinical Commissioning Group, North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care System, https://northcumbriaccg.nhs.uk/about-us/ccg-system
The North East and North Cumbria (NENC) VCSE Partnership Programme, led by VONNE, supports the integration of the VCSE sector within the emerging ICS structures in our region. In this blog post Siobhan Flynn, the Partnership Programme’s Engagement Manager, provides an overview of the value in involving the VCSE within the ICS, focusing on three key points of value:
- Specialist knowledge & community reach
- Fresh perspectives
- Ensuring a connected approach to care, health and wellbeing
Specialist knowledge & community reach
VCSE organisations possess vast local knowledge. They have reach into communities and often support people most at risk, meaning they have a unique insight into inequalities in the local area. This insight means that they have the ability to amplify the voice of different communities and groups.
They are also accessible, with many operating a 'no wrong door' policy. Making them well placed to achieve preventative outcomes because of the nature of the way services are provided.
A report issued by the Department of Health also found that VCSE organisations have “a track record of trust”, with many individuals being more willing to trust VCSE organisations in their local community than the NHS.
This specialist knowledge and community reach makes VCSE involvement in the ICS vitally important.
Fresh perspectives
The VCSE has a long track record of finding creative ways to improve outcomes for groups with the poorest health, making it an essential partner. The sector is:
- innovative and creative
- able to adapt to specific and often intersectional needs of their communities
- experts in service redesign.
The VCSE response to the pandemic effectively demonstrates these points. Organisations across the sector modified their services to support people and communities rapidly. Many had to respond to changing demand by, for example, moving support services online, and keeping connected to vulnerable people by making thousands of calls when face-to-face support was no longer an option.
The sector also provides a holistic approach, caring for the whole person, whether their needs are emotional, physical or social. They take a wider view of wellbeing and seek long-term solutions, such as building resilience so individuals feel able to make positive health choices.
The central aim of integrated care systems is to integrate care across different organisations and settings. Therefore, collaboration with the VCSE is integral to ensure a connected approach to care, health and wellbeing.
The creation of the ICS will not be genuine or effective without the VCSE. These organisations are trusted, expert partners and are key to achieving transformation around health inequalities.