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2nd February 2026

The Partnership: your questions answered

What do we mean by ‘Pathway 2’ and what is the vision?

Pathway 2’ is a short-term community bed-based setting which provides assessment alongside dedicated recovery support. This helps a person to recover following a change in their health and social care needs before they are ready to either live independently at home or receive longer-term or ongoing care and support.

In Derbyshire we offer this service through our Community Hospitals (which are run by DCHS) and Community Support Beds (which are currently run by DCC).

The Partnership will help us with our wider vision to bring these services into a single Pathway 2 offer, in line with a wider Discharge Improvement Strategy. There is a national strategy set by government which requires health and social care to find opportunities to join up and improve the experience for people. This is not only about working with people leaving hospital prior to going home but also providing short term social care and health support in response to changing need in the community. 

The improvements in Pathway 2 will provide goal-focussed assessment, rehab, and reablement support from a multidisciplinary team.​ It will enable people to recover, regain confidence and increase their independence, in order to return home wherever possible.​ By having Pathway 2 beds managed by DCHS in a partnership with the Council, we will reduce duplication such as similar policies or paperwork, so that we can make a more streamlined  experience for people using the service. This was part of the consultation that was undertaken earlier in 2025 to explain why the changes were being proposed.

By managing all the Community Hospital and Community Support Beds as a single pathway, we can support a variety of needs through different professional roles and physical environments.

The new Care Transfer Hub (another partnership development) will offer a single access route for Pathway 2 and all discharge pathways and help match the person’s needs to the right setting/unit. 

What is the timescale for entering into the Partnership? 

We hope that our Pathway 2 services will formally be provided by the Partnership from July 2026 onwards.

We will be exploring which other services may make sense to include in the developing partnership. The consultation last year referenced the types of services these may be, such as the Council and Trust’s services that are designed to provide home based enablement. This might include the Council’s home-based enablement service, DCHS’s Community Response Team and Rapid Response so that we can create a unified pathway for local people.

At this stage we don’t know any likely timeframes for these wider services because there is further work to be undertaken to establish how an integrated partnership might operate.

How will the Partnership be governed?

Both the Council and the Trust will become responsible for governing the services delivered within the Partnership and have responsibility for what happens within the Partnership.

The reality is that we are already working in increasing alignment and have been doing this for some time. For example, managers within DCC and DCHS are in regular contact so this will smooth the transition.

We expect the Chief Operating Officer and Director of Social Care will be working closely together to provide assurance on quality of care and improving outcomes.

Who is responsible for our legal duties and who is funding the service?

The two organisations will be entering a legal partnership to jointly deliver truly integrated services (under s75 of the NHS Act 2006) and will pool budgets and staff resources for the delivery of these services.

Both organisations have legal duties under various legislation, such as the Care Act (2014) and Health and Care Act (2022) – and these will remain with each organisation, but we will be exercising some activities together such as reablement and needs assessments.

Any services arranged for the person after they leave Pathway 2 will be assessed and charged/costed under the Care Act as now, or where appropriate using the Continuing Healthcare framework.

Is this the same as ‘Community First’? Will we be linking in with Community First?

Derby City Council and DCHS have already entered a partnership that formally began in May 2024 called ‘Community First’. This is a separate legal agreement with a slightly different set of services involved.

However, colleagues supporting the development of the Partnership are working closely with Community First colleagues to learn from their experience, and to look at opportunities to align our approaches where that would be appropriate.

You may also be aware of the potential impact of Local Government Reorganisation - Local government reorganisation - Derbyshire County Council  Given the boundaries may change across all local government, learning from our partners in Derby City is helpful, as we may work more closely with them in the future.

What will the structure of the Partnership look like? Will roles and responsibilities change?

At the point that we transition into the Partnership, we expect the structures of our teams to look the same as they do now.

Decisions about the senior leadership structure are still being made. We are committed to having a single overall lead for the Partnership and we will be recruiting to that role shortly.  It is likely that there will initially be an interim arrangement for the team structure, which will be adjusted later.

We want to make the most of our collective resource, including the skills and experience of colleagues. The Partnership will look at the different skills and expertise across the multi-disciplinary teams. This could include new ways of working, training and support to enable this.

Who would join the Partnership? I work for Derbyshire County Council now – how will my terms and conditions be affected by working within the Partnership?

We expect that at the point when we enter the Partnership arrangements, DCC colleagues working in Pathway 2 will move over to DCHS employment and work more closely alongside their DCHS counterparts. This would include all DCC colleagues working within the Community Support Bed Units – all roles under and including the Unit’s Service Manager and this would include the CH and CSB Discharge Team, including their Service Manager role. This would also include Business Services who are wholly or mainly assigned to work within the Community Support Bed sites.

We expect that TUPE will apply as the roles will largely remain similar at the point of the Partnership going live. This will protect existing terms and conditions. DCHS intends to apply to continue the Local Government Pension Service.

The new Partnership will bring the right roles under one leadership structure with the right governance and systems while DCHS hosts the organisation. Both the Council and the Trust will be jointly responsible for governing the services delivered and they would jointly be responsible for any potential changes to roles in the future. For affected  Derbyshire County Council  colleagues, there will be an employee consultation so you fully understand what this would mean for you.

By coming together, we can work more efficiently which will help us collectively meet the challenge of growing demand for our services.

Our Community Support Bed settings are supported by a number of non-DCC services. Our workstreams are currently working to understand how these necessary support services will continue to be provided. This is also being discussed with the relevant service providers. We recommend anyone who works for these organisations such as Vertas, to discuss these with their management team in the first instance.  

Has there been any consideration around the Partnership’s impact on community nursing support within Community Support Beds?

We are aware that community nursing is feeling under pressure, as are many services. Our aim alongside other integration work which is underway is to work more efficiently which will help us collectively meet the challenge of growing demand for our services.

Will we still be providing end of life care within Community Hospitals?

The Community Hospitals provide an important service currently to people who are at end stage of life. We have no plans to change this as a result of the Partnership model.

How does this Partnership relate to current recruitment arrangements / restrictions?

All public sector organisations are having to manage their limited budgets carefully. A number of our services have had additional measures in place to oversee and manage recruitment as a result. Staffing levels and recruitment will continue to be reviewed and monitored in line with both essential service requirements and budget considerations. DCHS are in the same position, as are other NHS and Local Authority partners in the region. This is unrelated to the plans to enter the Partnership.

 Will we have a shared or new IT system? What about other resources such as equipment, offices, premises etc?

At the point that we transition into the Partnership we are ensuring that you have access to the existing systems that you currently require for your day to day work. 

However, entering into a formal partnership will unlock new opportunities for improved joint ways of working. We hope to make the most of our collective resource by removing duplication and looking for ways to become more streamlined. This may include shared recording systems, which we anticipate could reduce duplication and increase efficient ways of working.

At this point, we don’t know what that would look like or what systems we would use, but we will be exploring this once the Partnership gets going from summer 2026 onwards.

What policies will we be using? Will we have access to appropriate training to support our roles? 

Colleagues within the Quality & Professional Standards workstream are working to ensure that the appropriate policies, procedures and training offer is in place and communicated with practitioners.

Some colleagues will require continued access to a handful of policies, procedures and training resources from Derbyshire County Council. We’re making arrangements to support this.

By combining our resources, we hope to develop a greater range of training and learning opportunities available to colleagues within the Partnership. This may provide opportunities for enhancing skills within existing job descriptions, as well as future opportunities for development and progression.

How will we know if we’re doing a good job for the people of Derbyshire?

We aim to support more people to achieve their reablement goals and improve their independence and wellbeing, reducing long term needs.

There are several things we will measure to help us understand how well the Partnership is performing against this aim. This will be monitored and reported through Partnership governance structures.

We want to ensure as many people as possible benefit from person-centred and strength-based practice. This will include using feedback from people who use our services to improve social care and health services in the Partnership.

Won’t a shorter length of stay in our beds lead to worse outcomes? 

The person’s individual length of stay will vary according to the SMART* goals they are working toward within the P2 setting. (*Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time bound). Being within the Partnership will remove many of the barriers to providing an efficient service. Our aim is that people achieve their goals more quickly and there is reduction in delays for people ready to leave the service. This will all contribute to a reduced average length of stay. We have seen similar results in services in other areas and so expect we will be able to achieve the same.

How can I feed my ideas and thoughts?

There are several workstreams working through the detailed plans. These include legal, finance, HR/workforce, estates, quality and information technology. 

Our current focus is planning the necessary steps to ensure a smooth transition. Our priority is ensuring that your day-to-day work can continue at the point that colleagues from DCC move to DCHS employment.

You can feed in thoughts through your managers and keep a look out for colleagues coming out to bases as well as spaces appearing on noticeboards with ways to share ideas and questions.

On 14 July 2025, Simon Stevens, Executive Director – Adult Social Care and Health and Dean Wallace - Chief Operating Officer, Derbyshire Community Healthcare Services, sent an email to colleagues in both organisations. The email said…

Hello Everyone

We are writing to give you an update on how adult social care and community health services are planning to work more closely together. You have already helped inform how we do this.

After public consultation and colleague engagement, and having considered all the feedback provided, we are starting the work to create a new formal Partnership between our organisations. Our ambition in relation to this is available on this page. There is a lot to work out and we will be considering our IT systems, legal implications, organisational development and more, to support us to deliver a Partnership Agreement that works for us all.

The first phase of this work will focus on short term assessment and reablement in bedded care (currently known as community support beds and community hospitals). The plan is for colleagues working in these services to work within a new Partnership that will be formed between DCHS and the Council. Our organisations are committed to achieving a truly joint service enhanced by the sharing skills, knowledge, and expertise. The new Partnership will be hosted by DCHS, bringing the right roles under one leadership structure with the right governance and systems.

In the future, we would like to further integrate the Council and Trust’s services that are designed to provide home based support. This includes the Council’s home-based enablement service, DCHS’s Community Response Team and Rapid Response so that we can create a unified pathway for local people. Our aim is to support more people to access care and support in a timely way so they can return home from hospital or remain at home, reducing duplication, unnecessary handovers and making the most of our collective skills and resources.

For these home-based services, there is further work to be undertaken to establish how an integrated partnership might operate. There will be opportunities for colleagues across both organisations to engage with this work and help shape how integration in this area can achieve the best outcomes for local people.

Both of us, along with our leadership teams, recognise that our organisations are going through a lot of change. There is a lot to work through together to make the most of this opportunity to support more people to live their lives as independently as possible, in a place they call home.

We have every confidence that you will bring your dedication and passion to this challenge.

Finally, we’d like to thank every person for their continued commitment to the people of Derbyshire, whether you are involved in this particular change or another.

Best wishes

Simon Stevens - Executive Director of Adult Social Care & Health, Derbyshire County Council

Dean Wallace - Chief Operating Officer, Derbyshire Community Healthcare Services

Update 3 February 2025

The feedback from the public consultation on whether we should explore a more formal partnership with Derbyshire County Council, for how we provide a range of assessment, reablement and intermediate care services, is now being analysed.

Both DCHS and DCC are working together to ensure that the consultation feedback is considered by both organisations at roughly the same time, in line with each organisation’s slightly different governance and public accountability scheduled meetings.

Our DCHS Trust Board will consider the consultation feedback at its next meeting on Thursday 6 February, and will subsequently make its final decision in March (and report this publicly in April). By the time of the DCHS March Trust Board the decision of the DCC Cabinet will be known. The DCC Cabinet paper is expected to be considered on 20 February by the elected members who comprise the Cabinet. The paper will include recommendations, following the public consultation, and will be published ahead of the meeting on the DCC website on 12 February and the link will be made available to DCHS colleagues.

The papers for our DCHS Trust Board’s 6 February’s meeting are published today (3 February) on our website and you can read them now: Public Board Meeting Pack - February 2025. A summary of the recommendations is listed here:

  • Consider the consultation findings at Appendix 1 and the summary within the cover report.
  • Consider the draft Equalities Impact Assessment as set out in Appendix 2.
  • Support the proposal in principle to move forward with a formal integration partnership based on the consultation feedback and the Board’s previous support for integration, should the County Council’s Cabinet agree that this is a priority for them when they consider the matter on the 20 February.
  • Agree to receive a final recommendation at the Trust’s Private Board on the 6 March 2025, for a decision and ratification, informed by any substantive matters arising from the County Council’s Cabinet considerations and decision.
  • Agree to reporting the final decision and next steps, at the Public Board on the 3 April 2025.

If you have any queries about this please email dchst.communications@nhs.net.

What is being proposed?

Derbyshire County Council (DCC) and Derbyshire Community Health Services (DCHS), are consulting upon further integration between the two organisations, including the possibility of entering into a formal partnership agreement, to jointly deliver a range of assessment, reablement and intermediate care services aimed at helping people remain independent at home for as long as possible. This may include the provision of community-based support beds, short-term care and any other services where further integration would benefit the people of Derbyshire. Section 75 of the National Health Service Act 2006 enables councils and NHS bodies to work in partnership and pool budgets and an agreement of this nature if often referred to as a ‘Section 75 Partnership Agreement’.

The DCC and DCHS are already working closely together to deliver assessment and reablement services using multi-professional assessments, by sharing staffing skills, training and development. The proposal to enter a formal partnership arrangement would be about building on the success so far, to enable both organisations to manage increasing demand for services into the future. The partnership would be aimed at providing more people with reablement and assessment so that they have a better chance of remaining independent at home and returning home after a hospital stay.  The proposal would also seek to reduce dependency on health and care services as a way to keep people safe, healthy and living well.