New report focuses on making integrated care a reality

Friday 19 August 2016


HSJ Value in Healthcare Awards

A new report highlights the positive impact of Southwark and Lambeth Integrated Care (SLIC) in improving care for local people and integrating health and social care across the two boroughs.

Set up in 2012 and hosted by Guy’s and St Thomas’, SLIC was a partnership of local clinical commissioning groups, NHS trusts, local authorities, and local people.

The partners aimed to work together to improve health and social care in Southwark and Lambeth and to break down artificial boundaries between the NHS and local authorities.

Cathy Ingram, Head of Local Rehabilitation and Integrated Care at Guy’s and St Thomas’, says: “SLIC has undoubtedly helped us to work better together with our many partners in Lambeth and Southwark. We’ve shifted our thinking and, instead of having polarised opinions, there is a shared view of care.

“People now understand that the answer to our health and social care pressures isn’t more hospital or community beds but that more care can be, and needs to be, delivered in the home.”

The four-year SLIC programme ended on 31 March 2016 and has now evolved into the Southwark and Lambeth Strategic Partnership. This aims to empower local people to take control of their health and well-being.

SLIC’s achievements include:

  • 75% of people attending strength and balance classes reported increased confidence and quality of life, and no admissions to hospital due to falls. The Falls Prevention project won the Community Health Service Redesign category of the Health Service Journal (HSJ) Value in Healthcare Award
  • 100% of patient records are now available to GPs in Southwark and Lambeth and hospitals in the two boroughs as a result of the Local Care Record. As a result there are 75% fewer calls from GPs to hospitals chasing information
  • Despite the number of people 65 and over in Lambeth and Southwark increasing by 5%, the number of hospital admissions and bed days has remained stable. This has occurred at a time when residential and nursing home placements have also reduced significantly
  • 14,500 people have benefited from a holistic assessment, creating an individual care plan with their GP to address their individual needs
  • 1,500 calls to the Telephone Advice and Liaison (TALK) service have resulted in 720 people avoiding admission to hospital.

Last updated: February 2024

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