What is Integrated Working in Health and Social Care?

Integrated working in health and social care describes how professionals, teams, and organisations join together to provide seamless, coordinated support for individuals. The main aim is to improve people’s experiences and outcomes by making services work as one, rather than in separate, disconnected parts.

People with long-term conditions, disabilities, or complex needs often use different health and social care services at the same time. If these services do not work together, there can be confusion, delays, and gaps in help. Integrated working seeks to overcome these issues by bringing everyone together around the needs of the individual.

What Does Integrated Working Look Like?

Integrated working has several clear features:

• Health and social care staff share information, plans, and expertise.
• Different services agree joint goals and coordinate their efforts.
• There is a single plan of care, rather than multiple, conflicting plans.
• People only have to tell their story once.
• Care and support are planned around what matters most to the person receiving them.

Integrated working means moving away from thinking in terms of separate organisations. Instead, the person receiving care is at the centre, and all support is woven around them.

Why Integrated Working Is Needed

People’s needs rarely fit neatly into one service. For example:

• Older people may require medical treatment, home adaptations, and help with daily living.
• Children with disabilities might need support from specialist doctors, schools, social workers, and therapists.
• Those living with mental health conditions can benefit from joined-up support from GPs, community teams, and voluntary organisations.

Working in silos often results in poor communication, wasted resources, and a lack of continuity. Integrated working addresses these problems by breaking down barriers and focusing on the whole person.

Types of Integrated Working

Integrated working comes in several forms, including:

• Multi-disciplinary teams: Staff from health, social care, and other sectors working together as a single team.
• Co-location: Health and social care staff sharing the same building or office space.
• Joint assessment and planning: Teams carry out assessments and produce plans together.
• Shared records: Professionals access the same care records, reducing confusion and repetition.
• Single point of access: One entry route for people to get the help they need, rather than multiple referrals.

No single approach fits all. The method chosen depends on local needs, resources, and history.

Benefits of Integrated Working

Integrated working leads to better experiences for individuals and communities. Specific advantages include:

• Better quality care, with fewer delays or gaps
• Reduced duplication of effort and paperwork
• Greater satisfaction for people using services and their families
• Less pressure on hospitals and emergency services
• More effective use of resources

Teams and staff benefit too:

• Improved communication between professionals
• Shared knowledge and learning
• Stronger working relationships
• Reduced isolation for staff

How Integrated Working Is Delivered

Integrated working in the UK often happens through:

• Integrated Care Systems (ICSs): These bring together NHS, local authority, and voluntary sector partners to plan and deliver services in a joined-up way.
• Health and Wellbeing Boards: These ensure collaboration and shared priorities at the local authority level.
• Primary Care Networks: GP practices and community services join forces around local communities.

In practice, frontline staff from health, social care, and the voluntary sector work as one team. They meet regularly, discuss individuals’ needs, and plan coordinated support. Shared budgets and commissioning can also help.

Overcoming Barriers to Integrated Working

While integration brings many benefits, putting it into action is not always simple. Barriers can include:

• Different funding streams for health and social care
• Different professional cultures, values, and priorities
• Separate information systems that do not “talk” to each other
• Concerns over information sharing and confidentiality
• Complex leadership and accountability structures

Steps to overcome these barriers include:

• Creating shared training and development opportunities
• Investing in joint IT and record systems
• Building trust and relationships between staff from different sectors
• Encouraging open communication and regular meetings
• Developing clear protocols for information sharing

The Role of Individuals and Carers

Integrated working is strongest when it involves the individual and any carers as active partners in their support. This is called “co-production”. People are experts in their own lives and have valuable knowledge about what help works best.

Effective integrated working:

• Seeks people’s views on their needs, preferences, and goals
• Involves families and carers in planning where appropriate
• Provides clear information and easy ways to give feedback

Real-life Examples of Integrated Working

There are many ways integrated working happens every day:

• Discharge to assess: Hospitals and community teams work together so people can return home quickly, with their needs assessed at home rather than in hospital.
• Community mental health teams: Nurses, social workers, psychologists, and voluntary groups provide joint support to people living in the community.
• Falls prevention services: Therapists, GPs, social care staff, and voluntary organisations work together to reduce the risk of falls in older people.

Integrated working also plays a key role during emergencies, such as supporting people who need to shield themselves during a pandemic.

The Future of Integrated Working

Integrated working will continue to develop. Health and social care systems in the UK are moving towards:

• Closer links between NHS, councils, voluntary groups, and private providers
• Joint commissioning and shared budgets
• Community-led approaches, focusing on prevention and wellbeing

Digitisation and technology will help, but relationships, communication, and trust between people are at the heart of successful integration.

Actions Supporting Integrated Working

• Sharing individual care plans across teams
• Using joint training to break down professional barriers
• Holding multi-agency meetings about complex situations
• Appointing care coordinators as single points of contact
• Encouraging regular feedback from people using services

Integrated working requires ongoing effort and commitment. Everyone, from senior leaders to frontline workers, plays a part in making support more joined-up, efficient, and personal.

Final Thoughts

Integrated working in health and social care means joining up efforts across services to create a better experience for people. It puts the person at the centre and works around their needs, reducing confusion and delays. Success depends on collaboration, respect, good communication, and shared commitment to the best outcomes for everyone.

This approach supports individuals to live independently and enjoy a better quality of life, while making the best use of skills, time, and money across the system.