The description of care trusts as either the ‘vanguard’ of integrated organisations or a ‘lost tribe’ was made by the former Chief Executive of a care trust at an HSMC learning event soon after their creation. It nicely captures the mixed views of care trusts as either the cutting edge of integration between health and social care or as a band of individuals and organisations that have happened upon a clumsy structural solution as a way of shielding themselves from other agendas.
The Health Services Management Centre has had an interest in care trusts since their initial conception and the launch of the first of these new organisations, and on-going ties are maintained with a number of care trusts. To mark the 10 year anniversary, the centre wanted to reflect on what has been learnt by these integrated organisational forms and identify what knowledge can be taken forward into the new policy environment that health and social care now faces.