This Briefing looks at integration and collaboration in health and social care and highlights the benefits that an inclusive approach brings to the delivery of care in both sectors.
It includes examples of successful models of integration from within the UK, where NHS organisations are now working more effectively with other public sector providers as well as independent providers, and from Western Europe, where integration between the public and independent sectors is more widely accepted.
For many health economies developing and delivering integrated care is a priority to enable health and social care to keep pace with the changing demographics of national populations.
The UK is no exception and in order to meet the increasing demands on our health and social care systems a more inclusive approach to collaborative partnerships needs to become a commonplace, and standard, model of delivery. However, integration has never been a key feature in the traditional UK NHS model where silo working is still too prevalent.
