Overview
The Health and Social Care sector in England is structured into three distinct but interconnected systems:
- Healthcare (primarily provided by the NHS).
- Social care (mainly provided by local authorities, private companies, and voluntary organisations).
- Community and voluntary support in both healthcare and social care, providing supplementary services and support networks.
The NHS is publicly funded and managed by the Department of Health and Social Care, while social care funding often comes from local authority budgets (with significant variability).
You can find out more about the organisations involved in health and social care towards the bottom of this page where we offer a 'birds eye view' of how they are typically organised in a region, and explain their remits.
Key Agendas
Successful collaboration starts with truly understanding what matters to your partners. Here's a quick guide to some of the key agendas you might come across when working to develop relationships in this area.
Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement
Patient public involvement and engagement, PPIE, is a key agenda for health and social care organisations. It is increasingly recognised as essential to ethical, effective, and impactful health and social care. It ensures that the people affected by research, services, and policy are not just recipients, but active partners in shaping them.
Many NHS services and other health and social providers have;
- PPIE panels or advisory groups
- Patient research ambassador schemes
- Networks for PPIE professionals to share practice and connect.
There may be local or regional PPIE meetings, training sessions or events run by local networks.
Many funders of medical or social care research require an element of PPIE embedded within the proposal.
What projects are already underway at your institution involving elements of PPIE?
Health Inequalities
Health inequalities are systemic. Factors like racism, poverty, ableism, gender, housing, immigration status and language barriers all affect health outcomes.
To address some of these issues Health and Social Care organisations often;
- Work with people who have lived experience.
- Train team members in anti-racism, unconscious bias and other aspects of inclusion.
- Conduct equity impact assessments
- Employ inclusive design principles
- Undertake power mapping exercises
Some healthcare organisations follow a social accountability model which looks at all aspects of how they operate their services as well as how they work with patients. Use this language to explain a universities civic mission.
Councils, universities and NHS trusts often work together on projects e.g. the Health Determinants Research Collaborations (HDRCs) aim to boost research capacity and capability within local government. HDRCs use research findings to understand how decisions impact on health and health inequalities. They also carry out research where evidence isn't already available.
How can universities and health and social care organisations work together on issues of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion?
Sustainability and Net Zero
The NHS, and many other health and social care organisations, have net zero carbon footprint plans. To reach net zero they will have to consider things like;
- Buildings; retrofitting for efficiency and renewable energy use.
- Electrification of Vehicles
- Alternatives to single use plastics
- Patient and staff travel
Organisations are also looking at the biodiversity and climate resilience of their sites.
Green social prescribing and access to nature are also key drivers in health and social care organisations due to their link with improving wellbeing.
How can universities work with local health and social care organisations to decarbonise their business, care for green spaces and improve health and wellbeing?
Top Tips for Working Together
Here are some key insights to help you collaborate more effectively with other actors in your place:
Understand the Local Landscape
Before reaching out, it's crucial to familiarise yourself with the local health and social care ecosystem. Use the birds eye view below to get an idea of the remits of different organisations and the levels they operate at.
- Which organisations are you interested in working with?
- Review their website to understand their focus and how they work.
- What are their strategic aims?
- How are they funded?
- What's important for them?
- Why would they want to partner with you?
- Who might already have relationships with this organisation in your institution?
Identify existing networks and forums:
Find out about, and utilise, existing structures and networks where local actors come together to discuss health and social care priorities.
For example:
- Find out more about your Local Health and Wellbeing Boards – find out who from your university attends public meetings or forums. Speak with them to understand priorities and explore collaboration opportunities.
- Connect with Public Health teams: Each local authority has a Public Health team that work public health initiatives. Is someone in your organisation already in contact with the local public health team?
- Partner with Local Public Health Initiatives: Many public health initiatives welcome academic input, especially in evaluating programs or exploring innovative interventions. What evaluation work is already happening in partnership with your institution?
Approaching organisations
Engaging health and social care actors from the outset, rather than after your research or project is designed, will help foster collaboration and ensure the research aligns with their needs. Early involvement can include workshops, focus groups, or advisory panels with health professionals, care workers, and patients. It's important to consider the following when making opportunities to connect:
- Meet people where they are; this might be running meetings in their settings, using accessible language and finding out what they would want out of a partnership.
- Be in listening mode, don't try and push your agendas or research, listen to what organisations want and need and think about how you can work together.
- Get to know individuals; build relationships not just projects, find out their purposes and reasons for working in health and social care.
- Speak their language; how do they talk about their work on their website and in strategic documents? Talk about what you work on in their language.
Existing Relationships in your University
Universities are made up of many departments, faculties, schools etc., all of these are made up of individuals who may already have existing relationships with health and social care organisations. It's really important to respect existing relationships and work with colleagues who have already spent time and care building them.
Where might partnerships already exist in your university?
Teaching
Student placements for health care workers such as nurses, physiotherapists, social workers, and other associated courses.
- Connect with placement teams in different schools and ask for introductions.
Community engaged learning /service learning modules, these might happen across disciplines and embed a student in an organisation. They might use their expertise in a particular subject to support a health or social care charity.
- Community engaged learning might sit in lots of different places in your university, try connecting with public, civic or community engagement teams. There may also be a team in the careers service supporting this sort of work.
Teaching partnerships, visiting lectures and guest speakers. There may be existing partnerships setup with NHS trusts to deliver degree apprenticeship programmes, this may involve visiting lecturers from the NHS trust or other local organisation.
- Follow department and university news pages to keep up to date with programmes and guest speakers.
Many universities run clinics that members of the public, students and staff can visit e.g. physiotherapy, sports therapy, opticians. These provide practice based education for students and reduced cost access to services for the public.
- Find out if your university runs clinics related to health degree courses by looking on your university website or staff intranet.
The students' union is also a wealth of civic activity and runs many volunteering projects with health and social care organisations.
Research
There may be collaborative research projects with NHS Trusts, Integrated Care Systems, charities, or other health and social care organisations.
- Find out what sort of health and social research is carried out in your organisation. Who manages the relationships? Is it an academic or someone in research services?
- Are there any national institute of health research, NIHR, projects embedded in the university?
Is there an external partnerships manager, or similar, in your research services team?
Could you approach them to find out where the university already has existing partnerships?
Operations
- Human resources or people development teams might have relationships with NHS trusts through occupational health services or back to work schemes.
- Student health and wellbeing services could be run in collaboration with local organisations.
- Estates might support community organisations to access green spaces for social prescribing projects.
Attend staff networking days and post on staff notice boards to find out what might be going on in the operations team.
Central Activity
There might be local agreements or teams in place that deliver against strategic aims of the university.
- Civic, or anchor institution, working groups or agreements involving collaboration with NHS, public health, or local authorities.
- Public, civic or community engagement / knowledge exchange teams might work with a variety of health and social care organisations
- Policy engagement units might be linked to health policy makers.
- Widening participation or outreach projects could connect with young carers, care leavers, or underserved communities.
Find out what teams there are in your university and what partnerships they may already have. How can you work together?
Who might you work with?
Explore some of the key people you might partner with:
Partnership Manager
AKA: Relationship Manager, Patient Outcomes Coordinator, Partnership Development CoordinatorWhat do they do?
Build and maintain relationships between different organisations, ensuring collaboration and alignment in delivering services and improving patient outcomes.
Where you might find them?
In hospitals, clinics, care homes, local government offices, or health and social care agencies, often working with other professionals to coordinate services across the sector.
What's important to them?
- Effective communication
- Making connections
- Improved patient outcomes
- Better use of resources
Social Worker
AKA: Mental Health Social Worker, Caseworker, Family Support WorkerWhat do they do?
Provides support to individuals and families by helping them navigate personal, social, and environmental challenges, advocating for their well-being, and connecting them to necessary resources and services.
Where you might find them?
They can be found in a variety of settings, including hospitals, schools, social services, government departments and community centres.
What's important to them?
They value empathy, social justice, and service user empowerment, aiming to improve the lives of vulnerable people through advocacy, support, and access to services.
GP
AKA: Primary Care Physician, Family Doctor, Locum GPWhat do they do?
Provides primary care to individuals, diagnosing and treating a wide range of medical conditions, offering preventive care, and referring patients to specialists when necessary.
Where you might find them?
GPs are typically found in local practices, clinics, or health centres, they often have long established relationships with places and patients.
What's important to them?
They prioritise patient care, building long-term relationships with patients, ensuring accurate diagnoses, and promoting overall health through prevention, treatment, and health education.
Patient Engagement & Involvement Coordinator
AKA: Patient Experience Manager, Patient & Public Involvement CoordinatorWhat do they do?
They work to involve patients in care and decision-making processes, ensuring their voices are heard in the design and improvement of health services and policies.
Where you might find them?
They can be found in hospitals, patient advocacy groups and public health agencies, often collaborating with trusts and patients to enhance care delivery.
What's important to them?
They prioritise patient-centred care, ensuring that patients' perspectives and feedback shape healthcare practices, policies, and services.
Social Prescriber
AKA: Social Prescribing Link WorkerWhat do they do?
Connects patients with non-medical services and community resources, such as social activities, support groups, or housing assistance, to improve overall well-being and address associated health risks.
Where you might find them?
They are typically found in GP surgeries, community centres, or local authority services, often working alongside healthcare professionals.
What's important to them?
They focus on improving the social and mental well-being of patients by addressing underlying social issues, reducing health inequalities, and promoting community integration and support.
Public Health Specialist
AKA: Public Health Manager, Specialist Practitioner for Public HealthWhat do they do?
They work to improve health outcomes at a population level by designing and implementing health programs, conducting research, and promoting health education and prevention strategies.
Where you might find them?
They can be found in local and national government, health care trusts, research institutions, universities and are often collaborating with local communities, healthcare providers, and policymakers.
What's important to them?
Prioritise health equity, disease prevention, and the improvement of overall public health, focusing on strategies that address social, environmental, and behavioural factors that impact health at the population level.
Birds Eye View
Key organisations and structures, click on the organisation to find out more.
National Bodies:
Integrated Care System / Regional Level:
42 Integrated Care Systems
Provider collaboratives
Local / place level:
Place Based Partnerships
Service providers:
Case Studies & Resources
Browse a range of other resources relevant to this infrastructure:
