Integration has been the buzzword for health and social care for some time now. Often held up as the holy grail for improving efficiencies and outcomes, it is no wonder health and care systems have been frantically realigning services and forming partnerships to break down barriers.

However, debates rage on as to whether or not integration will actually relieve pressures on budgets or produce savings. Evidencing the benefits of integration has proved difficult among the sector, and there are doubts as to whether it could live up to expectations.

Indeed, at a recent conference, Early Intervention Foundation senior advisor Ben Lewing said: ‘What we are missing is robust evaluation and evidence of what works when, what makes it work and how to compare and contrast what people have done in different places. Systems are hard to measure and by their nature they are complex.’