North Lincolnshire Council is set to establish a Joint Committee with Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB). By working together, the ICB and the council aim to make the most effective use of resources and design the future blueprint of health and care services across the county.
Cllr Richard Hannigan, deputy leader and cabinet member for adults and health, North Lincolnshire Council, said: “North Lincolnshire Council and the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board have a strong track record of working together to deliver health and care services and this is a perfect opportunity for change and to improve the health and care of people living in North Lincolnshire.
“Through greater integration and transformation comes further local accountability, influence and decision-making powers over local health and care services.
“This will create the ideal conditions to achieve the best outcomes with, and for, people and will enable the health and care system in North Lincolnshire to use resources more effectively.”
The North Lincolnshire Health and Care Integration Plan 2021-2024 initially set the scene for Place based integration. In June 2023 this plan was superseded by the Community First Strategy, which is North Lincolnshire’s plan for health and social care integration and transformation and has all health and social care organisations in North Lincolnshire onboard and in agreement.
Cllr Richard Hannigan added: “There is a strong appetite to further develop our integrated working arrangement. This includes working better together so that health and care interventions are more person centred, health inequalities are addressed, and more work is done to improve people’s health and wellbeing through the wider determinants of health.
“Pooling functions and resources enables closer collaboration, reduces duplication, encourages innovation and faster decision-making.
“All of this is driven by our long-term goal that people of all ages are empowered and facilitated to self-care and have control over their lives. People are safe and can access the right health and care at the right time and we can continue to prioritise those most in need.”
Detailed work is ongoing between the ICB and North Lincolnshire Council to determine the scope, structure, and content of an s75 agreement, with the terms of reference for the Joint Committee coming into force on 1 April 2025.
Image credit: Stock.adobe.com/Kzenon
.){kind=link}