Nottingham City Council is to restart its formal role in the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care System (ICS).

A decision was made at the council’s Executive Board on 16 April 2019.

The council decided in November to pause its involvement with the ICS for up to six months to allow time for the council to review the collective work to join-up health and social care.

It followed calls by the council for greater accountability in the way decisions would be made in any future arrangements for health and care in the city and wider county.

Ian Curryer, Chief Executive of Nottingham City Council, said: “We are satisfied that the ICS has shown it is committed to developing a new system of health and social care that is accountable to the public and has greater democratic involvement and more engagement with people who use local health services.

“Our council has always supported the principle of the integration of health and social care services. We believe we have an agreement in place that will lead to proper oversight and scrutiny that is required locally.

“In particular, we believe the creation of an integrated care partnership will allow us to work effectively with the NHS to plan and deliver the best possible services focused on the needs of people in the city.

“We look forward to working with all of our partners to make sure our citizens can benefit from more joined up care and support in Nottingham.”

Wendy Saviour, Managing Director of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICS, said: “The partners of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICS are delighted that the City Council has decided to lift its suspension and as a result ensure all health and care organisations are working together to support local people to live well and stay well. 

“Over the last six months all partners have been committed to working with the City Council to address their concerns and maximise the opportunities to improve the health and care outcomes for the citizens of Nottingham city.

“The ICS is now in a strong position to continue to focus on delivering the most efficient and effective use of the resources we have available to us to support people in their communities to live a longer, happier, healthier and more independent life into their old age.”

During the suspension, ongoing day-to-day work between the city council and the NHS continued as normal, especially in the council’s efforts to join-up with partners to respond to another busy winter in local hospitals. The council also continued to work through the Health and Wellbeing Board to champion best practice for finding new and innovative ways to support people’s health and care needs in Nottingham.

The ICS, formerly known as the Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP), was introduced by the Government in 2016 in every area of the country to look at how local organisations can work together to improve care, health and wellbeing.

The Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICS consists of Nottingham City Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Mansfield and Ashfield CCG, Newark and Sherwood CCG, Nottingham City CCG, Nottingham North East CCG, Nottingham West CCG, Rushcliffe CCG, Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

Residents of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire currently have the chance to shape the local response to the Government’s Long Term Plan for the NHS – people can have their say on the approach to how the ICS delivers the aims of the Long Term Plan locally at www.nottswhatmatterstoyou.co.uk.