52 Suffolk and North East Essex ICS | ‘Our Journey Together’ The same can be said for local government and the strategic combined authority. By not considering the role of health and the impact it has on their commissioning and delivery, the authorities may find that they cannot embrace the opportunities for prevention and early intervention. In addition, with unitary authorities taking on more direct services that interact with health, joint working and integration should be embedded in newly emerging models to ensure that systems work together rather than alongside each other. Integration allows for the optimal utilisation of services for residents and provides a more seamless service for them which is what they expect and should receive. The role of the healthcare provider and relationship building must also be factored in. With the providers taking on more responsibility, with ultimately some taking on whole pathways and budgets for some populations, early investment into building these needs to happen. Healthcare providers relationships with these new organisations on local government will be vital to these new provider roles so early conversations, relationship building and aligned planning will need to be considered. The future holds huge opportunities to make a difference to the health of our populations and to reduce the unfair and unjust health inequalities we see in our populations. Even with all the work we have done together, some communities see nearly 15 years healthy life expectancy difference between them with only a few miles separating them. This is totally unacceptable but could be finally addressed with these new shifts of focus and new organisations emerging which we have described. Our legacy of what worked well, what didn’t, what we couldn’t do, what the enablers and what the barriers were will be key to shifting the health of the populations we all serve. As said before, Suffolk and North East Essex ICS made as good an attempt as any ICS to deliver on the four purposes of an ICS and it was recognised for doing so. However, many have reflected we could and possibly should have done more, finding focus often not on the pillars but on other indicators that many could not see how they could support as they saw no role for them in addressing them. This time we need to consider the ripple effect of our work. Everyone does have a role to play in improving health and reducing inequalities, but this is often not fully understood or seen. The next two years, alongside this reflection, should allow us to better understand, plan and deliver but only if we take the time, look up and out and embrace the changes before us. Picture – delegates attending Learning and Legacy workshop for ICS People and Communities Assembly in November 2025 at Castle Hill Community Centre, Ipswich
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