NHS Alliance welcomes the DH's announcement of the first 15 integrated care organisation pilots (ICO). Having proposed the idea in the February 2008 publication "In Sickness And In Health", Alliance is delighted to see this come to fruition.

Integrating care around patients' needs has been a theme for Alliance since its formation. This piloting of various schemes will undoubtedly offer useful learning. Alliance hope that this will spread the realisation that integration is not just something for a few pilots - it should be a core value for healthcare.

Dr Michael Dixon, chair of NHS Alliance, said, "Integration should not begin and end with the Integrated Care Organisation pilots. This must now be something that every PCT, practice based commissioner and practice should think about in developing new services.

"Indeed, for inventive PCTs, practice-based commissioners and GP practices, having time to develop really radical proposals outside the confines of the rather demanding application system for the ICO Pilots may be an advantage…