Care Sector Insight (21.06.2024)

A Message from our CEO

This week, I held an open session with Care England members, and one of the things that came through loud and clear was how the NHS and ICSs have started to withdraw from connections with social care. This is happening across the country, and it is another example of the NHS protecting itself as an institution rather than looking at things that are in citizens' best interests. It is also proof that ICSs are absolutely focused on the NHS, and the pretence that they are there to deliver integrated care has been exposed by the fact that since their inception, they have done very little to shift the dial and to deliver an integrated system that is focused on the needs of citizens rather than the needs of organisations.
 
Time and time again, we see governments reorganising structures, and in the end, nothing is delivered except a very expensive bill to the taxpayer. This continuous cycle of reorganisation is not only costly but also disruptive to the healthcare system. We have been through joint appointments, PCTs, and CCGs, and now we are going through the same process with the ICS structure. When reorganisation occurs, most of the current staff are shifted around and turn up like bad pennies with the same attitudes and culture that have been failing people in the predecessor organisations.
 
If we are going to serve citizens' needs in the 21st century, structural change is not needed; it is a root-and-branch cultural reform in the statutory sector and a focus on people and outcomes rather than organisations and processes. Experience tells me that whoever comes into government will not be brave enough to do what is necessary to shift the dial.

Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive, Care England