The NHS 10 Year Plan: ‘Clustering’ of ICBs – what could this look like?
In the wake of the recent NHS England announcement that ICBs are ‘clustering’, and without a definitive ‘template’, many ICBs are thinking about their options and what form ‘clustering’ might take – or should take – for them.
In reality, there are a number of options, including:
- Joint Chief Executives – a leadership appointment of actual and symbolic value, a joint CEO signals a joint strategy being pursued by two organisations.
- Joint Chairs – being responsible for the effective leadership of the board, joint chairs can exercise their influence over the board’s agenda and during discussions to support an alignment of approach between two organisations.
- Joint Boards – one step further than a joint chair, a joint board takes decisions on behalf of both organisations, setting their strategy jointly.
- Shared functions – this can take a number of different forms, from the micro – merging teams to perform the same function for both ICBs – to the macro – formal delegation of functions from one organisation to another.
- Joint Committees – operating under delegated powers from the board, joint committees can help accelerate progress in key strategic areas where ‘joined up’ work is needed immediately.
Our team can help your ICB identify what arrangements would work best for you, and supported you in making the legal and governance changes needed. Our experienced governance team have helped numerous NHS organisations through organisational changes at pace, so please contact us for assistance in supporting your ICB.