Funds totalling £50million are set to be pooled together in a bid to boost integration between health and social care in Suffolk and improve the overall care of patients.

The Better Care Fund looks set to be given the go-ahead this month and will see various health and social care groups, in addition to voluntary organisations, come together to explore how to make services better.

It is hoped it will improve care for people closer to home and also offer more services through GP practices, while reducing the pressure being felt by hospitals.

A report into the fund is due to be discussed next week by Suffolk’s health and wellbeing board.

Alan Murray, the county council’s cabinet member for health and adult care and the health and wellbeing board chairman, said: “This is about getting people currently in silos around the table, bringing their financial and managerial importance to the table and working out how we can make services better.”

He said millions of pounds is spent on healthcare in Suffolk, adding: “Everyone’s feeling if we can try and work together we can achieve an improvement in what is already in Suffolk, quite a good provision.”

The £50million will come from various funding streams such as the disabled facilities grant and care act allocation – it will include a £4.5m contribution from the county council.

The intention is for Suffolk County Council to “host” the fund on behalf of Suffolk’s three clinical commisioning groups – Ipswich and East Suffolk, West Suffolk and Great Yarmouth and Waveney.

One of the key targets is a reduction in emergency admissions.

There will be a number of other national performance-related areas that will be monitored. These include reductions in delayed transfers of care from hospital and increases in the proportion of over 65s still at home 91 days after discharge from hospital into reablement or rehabilitation services.

A spokesman for the Ipswich and East Suffolk and West Suffolk CCGs said: “The signing of this Better Care Fund partnership agreement is a significant step forward in delivering closer working between the NHS and local authorities.

“By pooling £50m of resources, Suffolk’s health and social care commissioners will be able to work together better, with the common aim of joining up health and care service provision for the population of Suffolk.”

The Better Care Fund is a national policy aimed at driving integration in health care and social care.

It was designed to create a pooled budget to encourage the NHS and local government to work more closely together.

Suffolk’s health and wellbeing board will meet on March 26.