What Happens on Monday? Moving Integrated Care from Ideas to Action

What are we going to do on Monday?

That was the question that stayed with us as the International Conference on Integrated Care 2026 (ICIC26) wrapped up.

It wasn’t just about what we learned.
It wasn’t just about what inspired us.

It was a more direct question: what are we actually going to do when we get back?

ICIC26 didn’t lack ideas. The conversations were honest, grounded, and at times uncomfortable in the right way. There was also a clear thread running through the conference.

We know what integrated care should look like. The real gap is in what happens next.

Start with people, and where they live

One message came through clearly: care and support doesn’t start in systems; it starts in communities.

And yet, much of what we design still starts within systems first, with community added in afterwards. Across sessions on caring communities and neighbourhood approaches, a consistent pattern emerged. Community-led supports are often the most responsive. They operate with fewer barriers and build trust in ways systems often struggle to replicate.

At the same time, there is a natural tension in how these approaches connect with more formal systems. How do we work alongside each other without losing what makes community-based supports effective? How do we keep things simple when everything around us pushes complexity?

One word came up repeatedly: uncomplicate.

And it clarified what really matters.

We talk a lot about person-centred care. But what we really need are people-shaped systems.

Dr Clenton Farquharson made this point clearly. The idea of “centred” can still leave people fitting into systems that were never designed around them. We don’t need systems that place people at the centre of what already exists. We need systems that are shaped around how people actually live.

A different conversation

There was a noticeable shift this year.

Less time defining integrated care. More time confronting what is getting in the way of making it real.

The same themes kept surfacing. The divide between health and social care is not just about funding. It is about culture, language, and identity. People are still navigating systems instead of experiencing care and support as one connected journey. Design is still too often done “for people, rather than with them”. And carers are under significant pressure while we continue to talk about transformation.

None of this is new.

But it was named more clearly this time. More openly. With less hesitation.

Because the challenge is no longer what we know. It is how consistently we act on it.

Structure and people

We are getting better at building systems, but not always better at building relationships.

There were strong conversations about frameworks, governance, and models. All of that matters. But the ideas that stayed with us were simpler: trust, relationships, and time.

These are often the first things we trade away in the name of efficiency.

A gap surfaced repeatedly. There is a clear difference between how work is imagined and how it is actually done. We design systems one way, but people experience them in another.

That gap is where the system begins to break down.

From leadership to action

There was a lot of discussion about leadership, but not in terms of authority. The focus was on mindset.

There was a strong emphasis on shared leadership, relational leadership, and the importance of humility and curiosity. There was also a clear warning. We have many pilots, but not enough meaningful change with a shared vision or direction.

Too often, systems are still waiting for the right model, the right guidance, or the right time.

But integrated care does not come from a blueprint. It comes from shifting power, investing in relationships, and trusting the people closest to the work.

So… what happens on Monday?

This is the part that matters.

Because Monday is where good ideas either move forward or stall.

ICIC26 reinforced something simple. We do not need more concepts; we need more follow-through.

That might mean trying one idea instead of discussing 10. Creating space for frontline insight. Letting go of processes that no longer add value. Building partnerships that lead to real action.

None of this is complicated.

But it does take intention and trust.

Reflections

ICIC26 created space for open, honest conversations and the kinds of questions we often avoid asking.

It did more than highlight what is possible. It created space for the kind of conversations that stay with you long after you leave.

That is where ICIC goes beyond conversation.

It brings people together across systems, sectors, and perspectives, and keeps the focus where it should be.

Not just on ideas, but on what we choose to do with them next.