The new report from the Children and Young People's Health Policy Influencing Group provides a snapshot of how the newly formed Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) are enacting their duties for strategic planning as outlined in the Health and Care Act 2022. In particular, the requirements for Integrated Care Partnerships (ICPs) to produce an integrated care strategy and for Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) to produce a five-year joint forward plan (JFP).
While the report recognises the good work that is developing in ICSs, during the first year that ICSs have been required to publish a strategy and joint forward plan, it also highlights a number of areas where there is significant room for improvement. These include:
- co-production with children and young people
- integration with education and children’s social care, and
- greater clarity on leadership and accountability.
The report sets out a number of recommendations for government and arms length bodies as well as ICSs. These include:
- The Major Conditions Strategy acknowledging the centrality of child health in preventing illness across the life course
- Government addressing accountability concerns and how the legisialtive duties for strategies and plans can be upheld
- Intregrated Care Partnerships having a specific section in their strategies and forward plans for babies, children and young people and
- ICSs making public the different roles and responsibilities of individuas within the system, with contact points, to ensure greater transparancy and accountability.
You can read the full report and list of recommendations here.