Hertfordshire and West Essex Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) has appointed two joint lead officers.
Iain MacBeath and Beverley Flowers will guide the STP in its transition to becoming a shadow Integrated Care System (ICS) from April 2020.
Looking after a population of around 1.5 million residents with the help of their respective organisations, the two leads will each work two days a week in the role.
Mr MacBeath and Ms Flowers will both also continue in their current posts.
Both senior health and social care leaders, Mr MacBeath is director of adult care services at Hertfordshire County Council while Ms Flowers is chief executive of East and North Hertfordshire CCG.
Hertfordshire and West Essex STP chair Paul Burstow highlighted the value of Ms Flowers’ and Mr MacBeath’s ‘more than 40 years of combined experience in their fields’.
Both leaders have previous experience of joining up health and social care. Mr MacBeath led the discussions resulting in Hertfordshire County Council’s investment into the voluntary sector and schemes that would help people live independently.
Ms Flowers, meanwhile, worked with the social care sector on a strategy to develop a community frailty service, and has a particularly strong interest in mental health, learning disabilities and crisis care.
Commenting on their appointments, Mr Burstow said: ‘I’m delighted that we now have two very committed champions of integrated care at the forefront of our drive to improve population health and deliver high quality, effective and sustainable services.
‘Their track records of putting service users, patients and carers at the heart of everything they do mean that their influence reaches beyond traditional organisational boundaries.’
Mr MacBeath said he believes this role will offer an opportunity to work ‘with colleagues in the voluntary sector, our district and county councils and the area’s health and care providers and commissioning organisations to support people to lead happier, healthier lives’.
Beverley Flowers said: ‘Iain and I are committed to ensuring that clinical and professional expertise continues to be nurtured and supported in the Hertfordshire and West Essex STP area.’
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