A major milestone for the NHS – including on the Isle of Wight – will take effect from today (Friday July 1). But what will this mean for us?

The sweeping changes in government have been heralded by senior health executives as a new era for healthcare, paving the way for the transformation of how services operate.

One of 42 new integrated care systems
After years of development and the passage of the Health and Care Act 2022, earlier this year, 42 integrated care systems will officially start operating.

End of GCC
For islanders, this will see the end of the Hampshire, Southampton and Isle of Wight Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) – which only came into effect on April 1 last year, after the Isle of Wight CCG merged with mainland groups.

It will be replaced by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care System (ICS).

But what does this mean, what will happen and what should we expect?

What is an Integrated Care System?
An ICS will coordinate services and aims to remove barriers between organizations, in order to provide better integrated patient care.

In turn, it is hoped that this will improve health outcomes, reduce inequalities, improve value for money and help the NHS support wider social and economic development.

Will serve nearly two million people
The Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICS will serve nearly two million people, supported by 77,500 health and care workers with a budget of £3.6billion.

To help deliver ICS, it will consist of two main parts – an Integrated Care Board (ICB) and an Integrated Care Partnership (ICP).

How will it be managed?
The ICB will direct and oversee the organization. This will be the statutory body responsible for ensuring that the ICS fulfills its statutory obligations.

The ICB will manage funding, develop strategies and commission services to meet the health needs of the population.

Direction appointed
High-profile officials, such as a chief executive (Maggie MacIssac), a medical doctor (Dr Derek Sandeman), a chief financial officer (Roshan Patel) and a board chair (Lena Samuels) have already been named.

The ICB will also benefit from the contribution of all the NHS Trusts in the region, including the Isle of Wight, the Solent and the University of Portsmouth Hospitals.

When the ICB is legally established, the CCGs will be abolished under the Health and Care Act.

What is an integrated care partnership?
The ICP is a statutory committee, formed between the ICB and all higher level local authorities – in this case Hampshire, Portsmouth, Southampton and Isle of Wight councils.

He will be responsible for producing a strategy on how to meet our health and well-being needs.

What are the benefits?
According to the NHS, there are six main benefits:

• Improving the health of children and young people.
• Help people stay well and independent.
• Act earlier to help people with preventable diseases.
• Support people with long-term illnesses or mental health issues.
• Caring for those with multiple needs as populations age.
• Make the most of collective resources to get people healed as quickly as possible.

Will this be good for the island?
It depends on who tells us about the new system…

Within ICS, there will be “place-based” partnerships, focused on local areas, who will drive detailed designs and service delivery in their communities.

These partnerships will involve the NHS, local council, community and voluntary organisations, residents, service users, carers and anyone else in the community.

Could help dental crisis
One of the potential positive outcomes of ICS, the Island’s leading figures hope, will be a solution to the dental crisis residents are currently facing.

With the transfer of control of dental services to ICS, it was said that more innovative ways of thinking can be introduced to find better, more practical solutions that suit the island – instead of a one-size-fits-all approach.

Will this have an impact on general practitioners?
Not day-to-day, but GPs could use their local knowledge to help with future planning – for example in places where community needs are different from what is already on offer.

Through their experience, physicians and other primary care health professionals will also play a crucial role in identifying ways to address health inequities in the communities they serve.

GPs and primary care networks will be represented on the ICB by Dr Michele Legg, a GP from the island who has also served as clinical chair of the GCC, and Dr Matt Nisbet, a GP in Basingstoke .

What are the main priorities of the ICS?
Even before it was officially launched, some key priorities were set for the various ICS directors in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

They understand:

• Transformative programs in the prevention of cardiovascular disease, frailty and childhood trauma
• Executing this year’s financial plan and developing long-term financial and sustainability plans, including for the Island
• Recruitment and integration of 1,200 international nurses into the CSI workforce
• A workforce transformation program
• The alignment of the ICS with a five-year strategy
• Execution of urgent, emergency and planned care programs, winter plans and primary care programs.

This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) program, in which News OnTheWight participates. Certain changes and additions may have been made by OnTheWight. Ed

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