First trusts picked to ‘host’ neighbourhood health

An integrated care board has become the first to select “integrators” to coordinate neighbourhood teams in four of its boroughs, each of which will be “hosted” by a trust.

South East London ICB said the arrangements – all of which are an alliance between several organisations – would not replace its “place-based care partnerships” in the boroughs. The integrators will “provide the core infrastructure to support effective integrated neighbourhood team working as it develops”.

London’s other four ICBs are still in the process of selecting organisations or partnership for each of their council areas, as agreed in a neighbourhood health operating model for the city published in May. 

The “host” for each integrator is likely to employ any dedicated staff and hold its funding, particularly if it takes on delegated commissioning budgets. The London model says integrator hosts must be of a ”scale sufficient to manage related budgets and provide required infrastructure, including around data sharing, workforce, estates and digital”.

As well as developing and coordinating community-based services, the integrators will help any GP practices which are “at risk of failure”, the plan said.

However, the concept of an integrator was not included in the 10-Year Health Plan, and it is unclear how it will fit with the government’s proposed neighbourhood provider contracts.

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Source: HSJ, 25 July 2025