Table 2 Summary of key proposed changes relating to collaboration outlined in the 2022 Health and Care Bill
1. Providing a duty for the NHS and local authorities to collaborate with the Triple Aim (improving patient experience, reducing per-capita healthcare cost, and improving population health) as a focus [14] | |
2. Making ICS’ statutory bodies, comprised of an ICS Health and Care Partnerships (bringing systems together to support integration) and an ICS NHS Body (responsible for day-to-day running of the ICS) 3. Enshrining commissioning in the ICS NHS Body • The current role of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) will be taken over by the ICS NHS Body to enhance accountability and strategic planning ability. • Enabling NHS providers and CCGs (now ICS NHS Bodies) to legally take joint decisions with use of joint committees and committees-in-common arrangements, as well as bring in other partners, e.g., GP practices, voluntary sector • Allowing groups of ICSs to use joint commissioning to deliver combined services | |
4. Reducing bureaucracy by: • Removing competition law, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), as well as NHS Improvement competition features and anti-competition duty • Eliminating the need for competitive tendering if not providing value • Reforming the National tariff system towards collaboration and a focus on population health • Removing the requirement for Local Education and Training Boards • Giving the Secretary of State the power to create new Trusts as required to enhance ICS delivery | |
5. Improving accountability by: • Merging NHS England and NHS Improvement • Shifting accountability from NHS England into ICSs themselves with oversight from the Secretary of State • Ensuring a more agile and flexible framework for national bodies • Enacting legislation to improve social care accountability | |
6. Enhancing governmental powers of direction over newly merged NHS England body | |
7. Allowing joint appointments of executive directors across NHS Bodies, local authorities, and Combined Authorities, and a combination thereof | |
8. Improving data sharing across the system |