Guidance on integrated care boards brings clarity

Commenting on the interim guidance on the functions and governance of the integrated care board, published by NHS England, Lou Patten, chief executive of NHS Clinical Commissioners and ICS Network lead at the NHS Confederation, said:

“The NHS Confederation, including NHS Clinical Commissioners and NHS Employers, has been heavily involved in partnerships with NHS England and NHS Improvement and trade unions via the Social Partnership Forum to develop this new HR technical guidance.

"We are very grateful for the considerable input of members, and while mindful that central guidance addressing the needs of every system is very difficult to achieve, this has been a really good collaborative effort that seeks to bring clarity as to the way forward.

“Many senior commissioning leaders face uncertainty themselves regarding their futures, but they are committed to ensuring the effective transfer of staff, teams and functions to their new ICS based roles.”