They were defined by NHS England as an area ‘in which commissioners and providers, in partnership with local authorities, take explicit collective responsibility for resources and population health’.
[1] After a great deal of hostility to the use of the term it was announced in February 2018 that these organisations were in future to be called integrated care systems, and that all the 44 sustainability and transformation plans will be expected to progress in this direction.
Canterbury District Health Board has what is regarded as a successful system, which has moderated the rate of growth in hospital use by investing in services in the community.
Under this model the provider receives a fixed annual sum per local inhabitant (capitation) from the regional government for the duration of the contract, and in return, must offer free, universal access to a range of primary, acute and specialist health services to the local population.
It required a unified information system across all the services, with a shared patient record between GPs and specialists.