Leading Integrated Care MSc

The benefits of care that is personalised and coordinated across different healthcare settings, across mental and physical health, and across health and social care have been well documented. It has been shown to improve health and other outcomes for service users, and to reduce fragmentation and inefficiencies in service delivery. It is also seen as a key mechanism for addressing staff shortages and the growing demand for health and social care services.

The development of integrated and person-centred care is therefore now seen as a top priority among policymakers around the world. However, despite many excellent examples of effective integrated services delivering significant improvements in care, progress has been slow and uneven, and much work is still needed in order to embed the culture and practice of integrated care across the whole of the health and social care system.

Creating and sustaining genuine change requires organisations and professionals to work differently, and to adopt a systematic approach to engaging patients in decisions about their health and wellbeing. However, organisations vary widely in their preparedness for change, and in the skills, resources and leadership capacity available to them.