Skills for Care's response to Hewitt Review

The publication of the Hewitt Report into Integrated Care Systems opens a welcome and critical window of opportunity to ensure that integrated care really is about people only having to tell their story once to get the high-quality care and support that means they can live the lives they want.

As we noted in our submission to the Hewitt Review, engaging effectively with the full diversity of the adult social care voice, including the 1.5 million people who work in care roles, has to be the foundation for delivering person-centred transformational change within Integrated Care Systems. We know through our engagement with the majority of Integrated Care Systems that integrated working is built on trust and relationships as much as structures. As highlighted in the report the success of Integrated Care Systems will depend on a shift in culture, partnerships and behaviours at all levels.

At Skills for Care we also recognise the importance of capturing timely, relevant, high quality and transparent data so the support and practical solutions we are offering Integrated Care Systems are built on the rich insight drawn from the thousands of employers who contribute to our Adult Social Care Workforce Dataset.

The question is not just the level of system autonomy for Integrated Care Systems. If they are to meet their national objectives and local priorities and realise the promise of integration, then local social care leaders – providers as well as commissioners – will need to be empowered, engaged at all levels and recognised in system governance and accountability.

We agree with the “compelling case” the report makes that social care providers should have a strong voice in every Integrated Care System. The report also rightly identifies the interdependence of health and social care making the case for a workforce strategy for adult social care that compliments the NHS workforce plan. An effective strategic direction for Integrated Care Systems relies on having a clear understanding of what care employers and the people who work for them offer in our communities every day.

Today’s report should not mark the end of a stock-take on the effectiveness of the current integration process, but the start of an open conversation that genuinely thinks beyond organisations and right across adult social care. We will continue to take up this conversation with Integrated Care Systems locally through our engagement teams and nationally as we continue to work with the review team and partners to help realise the promise of integration.