David Flory confirmed as designate Chair of the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board

As the Health and Care Bill progresses through Parliament, although we cannot pre-empt any decisions that will be made, the positive response to the Bill so far means that we can expect with a degree of confidence that the measures relating to Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) will become law. The NHS therefore has a responsibility to prepare for when those measures are expected to come into effect, which is currently April 2022.

The Bill contains a series of measures which would formally establish ICSs and give their governing bodies a broader range of responsibilities, including an NHS Integrated Care Board (ICB), which will act as the statutory NHS body for the system.

A key element of the necessary preparation is confirming who is expected to take up senior roles for each NHS ICB, starting with the Chair-designates.

Following a robust process, NHS England and NHS Improvement have recommended, and the Secretary of State has agreed, that David Flory should be the NHS ICB Chair-designate for Lancashire and South Cumbria, ready to take up the post from April 2022 should Parliament confirm the current plans.  

This will provide stability for Lancashire and South Cumbria as David will continue to work closely with a wide range of local partners, including Local Authorities and the Voluntary Sector, in order to better join up health and care and develop the wider health and care partnership to improve outcomes and tackle health inequalities for local people.

David will also continue to provide interim support to Cheshire and Merseyside ICS while the national recruitment process for its ICS Board Chair takes place.

The next stage of the national recruitment process will be the confirmation of ICB chief executive designates, which is expected to conclude by the middle of October.