Overview
In 2017, Croydon Council, the local NHS Commissioning body, local health providers and voluntary organisations formed the One Croydon Alliance. They signed a legally binding 10 year agreement to work as one system, with shared goals and shared responsibility for local people’s wellbeing. The Alliance began by focusing on residents aged 65+, aiming to reduce avoidable hospital admissions, and help older people remain independent for as long as possible.
To guide the work, the partners committed to principles such as:
- Putting residents’ needs first
- Working openly and transparently
- Making decisions together
- Co designing services with the community
- Sharing information and learning
- Promoting innovation and collaboration across organisational boundaries
A Senior Executive Group meets monthly to oversee progress and ensure the partnership delivers meaningful change.
Action
The success of One Croydon has shown that long term, trusting partnerships make it possible to introduce new ideas and improve services. When responsibilities are shared, the whole system becomes more coordinated and effective. Sharing data and insight leads to better planning and helps services keep up with rising demand.
Working as one system has enabled major improvements, including:
- A shared digital care record. Croydon has introduced Patienteer — a joined up digital system linking GP, hospital, community and adult social care information. This is the first system of its kind in the country and is already transforming how professionals work together.
- Integrated services for better support at home. Reablement and therapy services have been brought together into a single service called Living Independently for Everyone, making it easier for people to get the right help at the right time.
- A unified Transfer of Care Hub. Staff from different organisations now work side by side to coordinate hospital discharges, helping people return home safely and more quickly.
- A successful Home First recovery service. More people are now supported at home rather than in hospital or residential care. The Home First service has helped reduce readmissions by 22% in just one year (2024/25 compared to 2023/24).
- The expansion of intermediate care beds has been made possible through joint investment by Croydon Council and NHS South West London Integrated Care Board, recognising that the benefits are shared across both health and adult social care.
- Therapists from Croydon Health Services NHS Trust are embedded within the service, working alongside care home staff to deliver specialist rehabilitation. This creates a seamless pathway from hospital to community, improving outcomes while reducing pressure on acute services. The three organisations recognised that while opening additional intermediate care beds incurs additional cost, this investment is likely to be outweighed by system wide gains.
Outcomes
Benefits to health includes more care closer to home supported through:
- Improved flow out of hospital through increased intermediate bed availability
- Shorter waits for NHS funded patients compared with long term care pathways
- Shorter waits for people who are medically optimised for discharge (ready to leave hospital), helping to reduce pressure on acute beds
- Fewer admissions due to strengthened community step up support
- Lower risk of readmission from home or long term care settings
Benefits for adults social care include:
- Fewer long term residential placements through enhanced intermediate care bed capacity
- Improved independence outcomes following an intermediate care bed stay
- Reduced escalation of need through community based alternatives
- Lower likelihood of home care packages needing to increase
Peers to Contact
Dawn Richardson, Discharge and Intermediate Care Programme Manager, One Croydon Alliance, email: [email protected]