CHANGING FACES: UNDERSTANDING THE KEY CUSTOMER CONTACT POINTS WITHIN THE ICS LANDSCAPE
As well as creating new structures, the reforms underway within the NHS will see a considerable movement of people and power across the new Integrated Care Systems. Wilmington Healthcare’s Victoria Paxman looks at how the landscape of key influencers and decision-makers will change as a result.
For all the talk of major structural change in the NHS, we shouldn’t forget that it’s ultimately people that make decisions, not institutions. As a result, one of the most important things industry can do is keep a watchful eye on the movement of people within the NHS and the changing context of their roles.
The demise of Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) and the development of Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) will, over the coming months, see thousands of NHS professionals taking on new roles within ICSs – drawing in new priorities and a different contextual environment in the way they make decisions.
But in this volatile, fast-moving period of change, what do we currently know about how the reforms will shape decision-making and personnel at the top of the structure (system level), and who will be the key customer contacts that industry need to put at the forefront of their engagement plans as a result?
The ’apex’ decision-makers
Certainly, we now have a clearer picture of the composition of the ICS Board (also sometimes called the NHS Body Board), thanks to the Design Framework published by NHS England earlier this summer.
Statutory roles for this body will be: the Chief Executive, Chair, Finance Director, Medical Director and a Director of Nursing, as well as up to three non-executive directors and partner members representing local authorities, trust providers and general practice. These are ‘apex’ decision-makers who will shape strategy and allocate resource at a system level.
Another key component will be the ICS Partnership Committee, also sometimes called the Health and Care Partnership board. The ICS Partnership Committee won’t be a statutory body, but should be made up of equal representation from local government (covering both public health and social care), local NHS and other stakeholders specific to the system requirements, most likely including voluntary and community service participation. It will have a chairperson and will play an important advisory role within the ICS, supporting the board and ensuring a wide range of voices across the health and care landscape are properly represented.
Other important players within the ICS landscape will include a Digital Transformation Lead, responsible for the system-wide data and digital transformation programme; a Director of Communications and Engagement (sometimes Corporate Affairs), responsible for defining, planning and delivering communications and managing relationships with stakeholders across the system; and the Workforce Lead which is responsible for system-wide workforce decision-making.
Higher commercial stakes
There are three important points to remember in all of this: the first is that it’s going to be a complex and changeable picture – we’ve covered the implications at system level, but there will also be a changing customer landscape at place and neighbourhood levels, as provider collaboratives and primary care networks continue to develop.
Second: there will be variability around the country even after the reforms “land” in a statutory sense from April 2022. The Design Framework provides some of the core features expected within ICS governance but it allows latitude for systems to evolve organically to meet local custom and practice. The same is true with provider collaboratives, where there are already a range of different models developed, as set out in this recent guidance.
And third: the core ethos of all of these changes is angled towards increasingly collaborative and networked decision-making. This means that there will be a natural interplay and overlap between membership of decision-making units at system, place and neighbourhood levels.
The stakes will be higher too. As Wilmington Healthcare’s Content Director Oli Hudson has explained, industry will have to take a broader approach to engaging clinical decision-makers: it will no longer be enough to consolidate your hold on a handful of clinical advocates when ICSs will increasingly be making collective decisions spanning the whole footprint. Large contracts to bring together health records across a system, as signed recently in Lancashire and South Cumbria, reflect the larger commercial opportunities on offer.
Building knowledge
Of course, all of this means knowing who does what matters hugely. Wilmington Healthcare has been working to gather comprehensive coverage of key ICS personnel and stakeholders, as well as Primary Care Networks and their key decision makers. We are also fast developing databases covering Place-Based Provider Collaboratives (also sometimes referred to as Place-Based Partnerships), detailing who they are and how they are integrated.
In short, from a personnel perspective, the kaleidoscope has been shaken by these reforms. It’s vital that industry learns where the pieces have now fallen, so they can make sure their engagement approach matches these new realities.
Wilmington Healthcare can provide the granular data needed to identify and target key decision makers across the new NHS. Find out more by visiting wilmingtonhealthcare.com.
This content was provided by Wilmington Healthcare
Company Details
Latest Content from Wilmington Healthcare
Considering a portfolio review?
Are you considering a portfolio review for your established pharmaceutical brands? Wondering if you should put some activity behind them? At CHASE our experienced team will ensure you maximise your...
UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF PLACE WITHIN THE NEW NHS: FIVE THINGS INDUSTRY NEEDS TO KNOW
Operating a level below system, “place” is an increasingly important unit of NHS organisation, yet it remains an evolving concept that is not always well-understood among industry practitioners. In this...
MISSION CRITICAL: HOW PHARMA CAN HELP THE NHS IMPROVE CARE FOR OLDER PEOPLE
With around two-thirds of all hospital beds occupied by over-65s, the care of older patients has long been recognised as key to the sustainability of the NHS. So how is...
ALL CHANGE FOR SPECIALISED COMMISSIONING: FOUR THINGS INDUSTRY NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT THE LATEST REFORMS
With a recent NHSEI policy document confirming that a major shake-up of arrangements for Specialised Commissioning is imminent, Oli Hudson, Content Director at Wilmington Healthcare (wilmingtonhealthcare.com), describes the key changes...
HOW DID COVID-19 AFFECT PRESCRIBING BEHAVIOURS? FIVE KEY FINDINGS FROM A NEW STATE OF THE NATION REVIEW
Published earlier this month, Wilmington Healthcare’s new State of the Nation report draws on a raft of data from across primary and secondary care to show what actually happened to...
ALL SYSTEMS GO: UNDERSTANDING WHO’S WHO IN THE NEW NHS LANDSCAPE
With the Health and Care Act safely passed, Oli Hudson introduces six key stakeholders that will loom large in the new landscape.
Spending on anti-depressants soars as the pandemic’s effect on NHS prescribing patterns is revealed
Wilmington Healthcare’s State of the Nation prescribing report shows that spending on sertraline, commonly used to treat depression and anxiety, increased by 305.5% between 2019/20 and 2020/21 while overall spend...
EQUAL FOOTING: HOW PHARMA CAN HELP THE NHS TO ACT ON HEALTH INEQUALITIES
As the NHS puts a renewed focus on reducing health inequalities, Oli Hudson looks at what opportunities this might it bring for Industry and how it can best play its...
UNDERSTANDING THE NEW VALUE PROPOSITION FOR THE NHS
Industry needs a new way of describing its commercial propositions in response to the changing NHS landscape, argues Wilmington Healthcare’s Oli Hudson. This ‘new value proposition’ needs to be reflected...