Last Updated on November 4, 2025
A new Skills for Care campaign has been launched to highlight the importance of integrated working across health and care services. The ‘Integrated working and social care’ spotlight will aim to explore what integrated working really means, why it matters and how it is shaping the future of care and support.
Integrated working brings together social care, health, housing, community organisations and other services to deliver better, more connected outcomes for people who draw on care and support. According to Skills for Care, when services work together, people only need to tell their story once, reducing duplication and gaps in support, focusing on what truly matters - people’s wellbeing and independence.
The ‘Integrated working and social care’ spotlight comes as the 10 Year Health Plan shows the need for focus on preventative care and local services, with three key shifts in how services operate:
- Moving more care from hospitals to communities.
- Making better use of technology in health and care.
- Focusing on preventing sickness, not just treating it.
Forming part of the 10 Year Health Plan, Neighbourhood Health Services will set out to link up care providers, GPs, social workers, nurses and other health and care professionals to bring care and support closer to home.
Running across the Skills for Care website, social media and other communications channels, the ‘Integrated working and social care’ spotlight will aim to raise awareness and knowledge of these current developments as well as looking more widely at what integrated working means and how it supports better outcomes - pointing to useful resources and showcasing examples of integrated working in action.
Commenting on the launch of the new campaign, Oliver French, Head of National Engagement at Skills for Care, said, 'I'm really pleased that we are shining our spotlight on integrated working in the coming months, as this is such an important topic for everyone working across social care. It's a really exciting time at the moment with developments such as the piloting of Neighbourhood Health Services.
'Integrated working is ultimately about providing more seamless, person-centred care for those who draw on support. It means people only having to tell their story once and less fragmentation across services. Our spotlight will help bring to life those real, tangible benefits.'
Visit Skills for Care's dedicated spotlight page to learn more about ‘Integrated working and social care’.
In other news, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published its annual State of Care report, which warns of an ‘erosion’ of care quality.