Community NHS and Norfolk Council commit to commissioning partnership
Community NHS and Norfolk Council commit to commissioning partnership
Matthew Winn, CEO of NCH&C, and Ian Wake, Executive Director of Adult Social Services at NCC, marked the occasion by signing the official Section 75 document to reflect both organisations' commitment to adult health and social care.
Section 75 is an arrangement that allows NHS organisations and councils to work more closely by sharing budgets, staff, and responsibilities. This helps both organisations deliver better and more joined-up health and social care by reducing duplication of work and increasing efficiency.
While NCH&C and NCC have collaborated under Section 75 since 2014, the organisations launched a new partnership agreement in February 2025 to focus on the following strategic priorities:
Prevention and Early Help
Delivery of Integrated Community Services
Intermediate and Unplanned Care
To deliver these ambitions, NCH&C and NCC are working together on projects to prevent falls, deploy supportive technology and training in care homes, improve support for complex patients and their carers, and to ensure a 24-hour response to unplanned care needs.
Since launching the new priorities last year, both organisations have laid strong foundations to a long-term partnership by reshaping leadership structures, streamlining governance arrangements and operating models, and establishing a culture of change and transformation.
As a result, the collaboration has continued to improve access and outcomes for people in Norfolk, including reduced waiting times for assessments and reviews, improved access to reablement, strengthened intermediate care flow, and expanded urgent and unplanned care pathways.
Matthew Winn, NCH&C CEO, said:
The joint partnership agreement with Norfolk County Council allows us to improve the adult health and social care services for some of the most vulnerable people in our communities. By working together, we can provide integrated, efficient, and responsive care systems that address the diverse needs of our community.
Over the next twelve months, our partnership will support the ambitious community-first approach by co-designing more services with our patients and communities, and focussing on proactive, preventative care to improve health outcomes and economic wellbeing.
Ian Wake, Executive Director of Adult Social Services at NCC, said:
Our unique relationship with NCHC shows what's possible when we agree work more closely together; integrated, connected teams, working towards the same goals and ambitions, able to deliver local, proactive care and support for Norfolk's residents.
This agreement is a prime example of what can be achieved when our health and social care system works together to deliver better outcomes for residents. Our ambition is to be more proactive, more community-based, working more closely with all our partners to ensure residents receive the care and support they need, when they need it, where they need it.