A former chief executive of the Northern Care Alliance has been appointed to chair the Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board (ICB).
Raj Jain – whose appointment was approved by NHS England and the health secretary – will take up the post from July, when integrated care systems (ICSs) are expected to become statutory bodies.
Mr Jain previously led the Northern Care Alliance trust, working with around 20,000 staff from across both the Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust and The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.
Graham Urwin, designate chief executive of the ICB, said: ‘Raj’s appointment is a significant and welcome step in the development of our integrated care system in Cheshire and Merseyside and we look forward to his experience and leadership at this crucial and exciting time for the partnership which I feel will make a significant impact on improving care for the people of Cheshire and Merseyside.’
The ICB, which covers a population of 2.6 million, will consist of up to six non-executive directors, including the chair, four executive directors, two senior posts focuses on workforce and planning, and six partner members from across primary care and local trusts.
Last May that the then-chair and chief officer of the ICS announced they would step down because the task had become ‘significantly different’ to what they felt they had been appointed to do.
ICSs were initially expected to receive statutory footing this month, however NHS England confirmed in January it would delay the target date by three months to ‘allow sufficient time’ for the remaining parliamentary stages.
In February, the Government published its long-awaited integration white paper, detailing its plans and expectations for the delivery of integrated care.
