Case studies

The challenge of the ageing population and supporting people with long-term conditions is one of the biggest our society faces.

Kent County Council and Medway Council are coterminous with Kent and Medway Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP), which is developing into an integrated care system. The system has eight clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) which share an accountable officer and are working to establish a single strategic or system commissioner. This case study forms part of our integrated care systems (ICS) resource.

The Kent and Medway Suicide Prevention (SP) team have been conducting unique research into the links between domestic abuse (DA) and suicide since 2019. Using Real Time Suicide Surveillance (RTSS) data supplied by Kent Police, our research has shown that approximately 30 per cent of all suspected suicides in Kent and Medway between January 2019 and January 2022 have been impacted by domestic abuse (either as a victim, perpetrator or as a young person. affected by the abuse). This case study was done jointly with the National Suicide Prevention Alliance and forms part of our suicide prevention resource.

Kent County Council has produced a major guide to the development of end of life care in the county.  It sets out from a council perspective the wide-ranging partnership work involved in end of life care. It relates this work to the Ambitions partnership goals. This case study forms part of our end of life care guide for councils.

Kent has invested in digital technologies to improve the way services are offered. A new website has been launched and that has been followed by a range of online STI tests, which have proved to be very popular. This case study forms part of our sexual health resource.

Alcohol services have been changed in east Kent thanks to a co-design process involving staff, service users, local people and stakeholders. It has led to more consistency in services, boosted innovation and improved performance.

Managing transfers of care: an example of how a local area is working to implement system change. Kent’s transformation journey began in 2013 with the establishment of three programmes on care pathways, optimisation, and commissioning. This example of a local initiative forms part of our managing transfers of care resource.

Since October 2013, an integrated discharge team has been up and running in North Kent. The team aims to reduce admissions, ensure patients’ needs are proactively managed to reduce their length of stay and to enable patients whose medical conditions are stable to leave hospital in a timely manner. This example of a local initiative forms part of our managing transfers of care resource.

Over the past five years, the use of the single health resilience early warning database (SHREWD) has enabled Kent County Council to supply real-time data to support internal management and also operational partners. This example of a local initiative forms part of our managing transfers of care resource.

Kent County Council's pilot project helps to support older people in the community who are isolated and at risk of loosing their independence.