NHS England 31 march 2017
- "ACSs will be an ‘evolved’ version of an STP that is working as a locally integrated health system. They are systems in which NHS organisations (both commissioners and providers), often in partnership with local authorities, choose to take on clear collective responsibility for resources and population health. They provide joined up, better coordinated care."
- ACSs are STPs – or groups of organisations within an STP sub-area – that can:
- choose to take on clear collective responsibility for resources and population health to provide joined up, better coordinated care.
- together manage funding for their defined population,
- create an effective collective decision making and governance structure,
- operate on a horizontally integrated basis
- also operate as a vertically integrated care system, partnering with local GP practices formed into clinical hubs serving 30,000-50,000 populations.
- deploy rigorous and validated population health management capabilities
- establish clear mechanisms by which residents will still be able to exercise patient choice
- In Q1 2017/18, NHS England and NHS Improvement will jointly run a light-touch process to encourage other STPs (or coherent parts of STPs) to come forward as potential ACSs and to confirm this list. Likely candidates include:
- Frimley Health
- Greater Manchester
- South Yorkshire & Bassetlaw
- Northumberland
- Nottinghamshire, with an early focus on Greater Nottingham and the southern part of the STP
- Blackpool & Fylde Coast, with the potential to spread to other parts of the Lancashire and South Cumbria STP at a later stage.
- Dorset
- Luton, with Milton Keynes and Bedfordshire
- West Berkshire
- Some ACSs may lead to the establishment of an accountable care organisation (ACO) where the commissioners in that area have a contract with a single organisation for the great majority of health and care services and for population health in the area.
