Trusts deliver essential healthcare services in the places that people live and work. In the context of integrated care systems (ICSs), ‘place’ refers to a smaller geographic footprint within a system which often aligns with a local authority area or patient flows for acute care. Across the country, trusts are working with partners to provide better joined up care at place level.
These collaborative arrangements are called place-based partnerships. They bring together a range of organisations responsible for planning and delivering health and care services. These include trusts, commissioners, local authorities, primary care services, voluntary and community sector organisations, local residents and service users, and wider partners such as housing or education providers.
Places will play a key role in ICSs. Following the passage of the Health and Care Act, from July 2022, ICBs will be able to delegate budgets and functions to places.
In this context, and as part of our wider work on the role of trusts in systems, NHS Providers is undertaking a range of activities to support trusts to work effectively at place, including sharing examples, analysing and interpreting policy developments, and influencing national decision-makers.
More information can be found in the resources section below, as well as blogs, press releases and reports that we have produced on the topic.
