These Hands Academy Wins Overall Award at International Conference for Integrated Care 2026

I was completely blindsided at the gala dinner for the International Conference for Integrated Care (ICIC) 2026 at the ICC in Birmingham earlier this week. I had believed my invitation was simply to join a table for the launch of the new IFIC England hub. Instead, I was called to the stage and presented with the award for Overall Conference Winner in recognition of our work on Connecting Care through the Connected Care Programme.

This recognition, on an international stage, marks a significant moment for These Hands Academy and for the communities and partners we work alongside.

The International Foundation for Integrated Care (IFIC) is a global organisation with a powerful vision: that individuals, families, and communities benefit from person-centred, coordinated care that enables them to live healthy, fulfilling lives. IFIC works to address fragmentation across health and care systems by championing models of care that are holistic, co-produced, continuous, coordinated, equitable, and sustainable.

Bringing together researchers, professionals, families, and communities from across 52 countries, IFIC creates a space for collaboration, knowledge exchange, and innovation that drives meaningful system change.

To have our work recognised and validated as the overall winner at ICIC 2026 is both humbling and affirming. The Connected Care Programme has always been grounded in a simple but powerful idea: that care becomes more effective, more human, and more sustainable when it is connected, across organisations, across sectors, and most importantly, around the person.

This award reflects not just the work of These Hands Academy, but the collective effort of all those who have contributed to and believed in this approach, residents, carers, care providers, health professionals, partners, and communities working together to transform how care is delivered.

As we look ahead, this recognition strengthens our commitment to continue building models of care that are simple, direct, and impactful, supporting systems to move beyond fragmentation and towards truly integrated, person-centred care.

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