Providing capacity through the Integrated Care Bureau

Picture of an old man in a wheelchair with a woman pointing at something in the distance

In April 2018, a Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG) report highlighted that across BNSSG there was an above average growth in unplanned hospital admissions and we were admitting more patients than available capacity.

To provide extra capacity, ten stakeholder organisations came together to develop the Integrated Care Bureau (ICB), which acts as the front door to local health and social care community services. The ICB makes trusted assessments of which service will best meet patients’ needs, to help move people out of hospital and into the community after an acute admission.

What we did

The Research Team helped plan an evaluation of the ICB to review the impact of the new approach. We worked with all ten stakeholders to devise a robust evaluation, using quantitative data, new qualitative data and patient stories. Following collection of the data we worked with the lead commissioner to finalise the report, which showed that the ICB had reduced the average length of hospital stay by 35%, saving 19,000 bed days over a five month period.

Our impact

The mixed methods evaluation was presented to the Commissioning Executive team, and is now informing decisions about the future of the service.

Read more impact case studies.