Skills for Care response to integration white paper: joining up care for people, places and populations

09 Feb 2022

2 min read

Following the publication of the integration white paper, Skills for Care’s CEO Oonagh Smyth has issued a response.

Skills for Care CEO Oonagh Smyth said:

“The integration white paper is a welcome acknowledgment that joined up, person-centred services work best for people who must be at the heart of care.

"Integrated care is about people having to tell their story once and is reliant on relationships and trust, with providers of care and health working together irrespective of uniform or badge. This will only be achieved if we are able to attract and retain staff with the right mix of skills, and a properly recognised and rewarded adult social care workforce will be vital in making sure that happens.

“Creating a national plan for our growing social care workforce will be critical as we consider what a fully funded integrated care system looks like, and whilst the integration white paper has a welcome recognition of the importance of place based workforce planning there was no mention of a national workforce plan. Furthermore, plans for integration must encompass and involve the whole of the social care sector from local authority commissioners, through to voluntary and small and medium enterprise (SME) providers of care. This will be key to ensuring the proposals announced today will make it easier for people in our communities who draw on services to have their needs met in the way they want.

"We look forward to working with the Government and other partners on the detail of what these proposals mean and how they can be made a reality.”