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Report

Long read

Partnering with purpose: how integrated care systems and industry can work better together

Exploring how ICSs and industry can work in partnership to solve the challenges facing health and care.

  • Cross-sector partnerships

Download the report $Partnering With Purpose ICS Industry 227.6 kB

Key points

  • Cross-sector partnerships are essential in helping the NHS to overcome the many challenges local organisations face, bringing in additional capacity to enable systems to improve the quality of care and introduce much-needed expertise, skills and resources, and reduce the inequitable uptake of NICE-approved medicines.
  • To support integrated care systems to strengthen collaborations and build capacity with system partners, the NHS Confederation and Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry brought together senior industry leaders and system leaders to explore how the NHS and industry can work as partners in solving the health challenges we face as a nation.
  • Four masterclasses were held between October 2022 and May 2023, drawing a range of leaders including integrated care board chairs, chief executives, directors of innovation, chief pharmacists, chief medical officers and directors of medicine optimisation. In total, 13 integrated care systems were represented, and 80 system and industry leaders attended.
  • Four priority areas emerged which, taken together, could support partnership working and improve patient outcomes, make more efficient use of NHS resources and deliver economic growth.
  • Content for the series was created through engagement with ICS and industry leaders to ensure sessions aligned with system priorities. The resulting impact is a strong coalition of industry and system leaders who are willing to further engage with the ABPI and the NHS Confederation to develop principles of NHS-industry partnership working.
  • Looking to 2024, our collaborative work will build on the masterclasses and move to delivery-focused projects to facilitate enhanced relationships between systems and relevant partners and improve outcomes in targeted localities. The programme will also generate new guidance on how collaborative working can be structured and delivered across care settings.