CCG implementation of integrated care in the NHS

Background Demographic changes, ageing populations and increasing numbers of patients with multiple long-term conditions (multimorbidity) means health systems must change organisation and delivery to match patient need. Health systems globally are therefore looking to implement ‘integrated care’ as a means to achieve better health system outcomes (health gain, cost-effectiveness, and user satisfaction [1]). The NHS is no exception. The 2012 Health and Social Care Act, which also created the Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), mandated that these new clinically-led organisations act to support integration of care [2]. However, there is little known about the implementation of integrated care and how CCGs have utilised the flexibility that they have been provided. This project, therefore, examines a random sample of CCGs and compares the models of integrated care in practice to date.