Our joint Transition Committee is progressing work to develop our NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (ICB) and NHS Gloucestershire ICB cluster and over time create the new ICB.
Workshops have been held with executive teams from both organisations to start to define the principles for ensuring our cluster and future Integrated Care Board is a world-class strategic commissioner.
This includes having a deep understanding of the population and continuing to develop partnerships that serve the community and support the implementation of the 10 Year Health Plan.
The approach that will be taken to communicating with you, our community partners, and our staff during this time has also been considered.
The intention is for our communication to be sensitive to change, joined up, consistent, timely and flexible when needed. Our two organisations will use their own existing channels to keep you and our staff informed for now, but ensure our updates are aligned with more work planned to consider our approach and develop activities together over the coming months.
The changes to ICBs are in response to the Government’s wider plan to make changes to the NHS. Over the past year, NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care have been discussing closer working, reducing duplication and reforming the size and functions of NHS organisations to support the Government’s priorities for the health service.
As part of this reform and the stated desire to maximise use of taxpayers’ money to support frontline services, Integrated Care Boards, initially through a clustering arrangement, will work on larger footprints to meet their strategic commissioning responsibilities and reduce their running costs.
Prior to any future merger, our two organisations will continue to be statutory bodies and legal entities in their own right, but will work together in partnership to deliver the health priorities of local people.
Dr Jeff Farrar and Shane Devlin were appointed Cluster Chair and Cluster Chief Executive respectively.
Early conversations have started on shaping the new organisation and exploring what the executive structure of the new organisation might look like. Conversations have also begun on our medium terms plans and working with partners to define our approach to development of neighbourhood health services.
The joint Transition Committee has been set up to ensure we have the best possible processes and arrangements in place to take us through the changes ahead. You can read more about the Committee, its membership, updates and papers discussed on the NHS Gloucestershire website.