If you've read about changes to your local NHS services, you may have come across the term ICB.
But what exactly is an ICB and what does it have to do with the healthcare you receive?
ICB stands for Integrated Care Board. It is an NHS organisation responsible for planning and commissioning many health services for people living within a particular area.
ICBs were established in July 2022 and replaced Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), taking on many of their responsibilities as well as some functions previously carried out nationally by NHS England.
What does an Integrated Care Board do?
Put simply, an ICB helps decide how NHS resources are used and how health services are planned for its local population.
ICBs plan and commission many NHS services and work with other organisations across health and care. In practice, this can include decisions about:
- Primary care
- Hospital and community services
- Mental health services
- Medicines and pharmacy services
- Care closer to home
- Health inequalities – looking at where people's health, experiences and access to services differ and working to reduce these inequalities
For example, an ICB might be involved when an NHS service is reviewed or redesigned, when decisions are made about where and how a service should be provided, or when new ways of delivering care are being considered.
ICBs are statutory NHS bodies, meaning their responsibilities and duties are set out in law. They also have duties around improving the quality of services, reducing health inequalities and involving the public in decisions about healthcare.
What is the difference between an ICB and an ICS?
Here's where NHS jargon can get particularly confusing.
ICB means Integrated Care Board.
ICS means Integrated Care System.
They're connected but they're not the same thing.
An Integrated Care System (ICS) is a wider partnership of organisations in a geographical area that work together to plan and deliver health and care and improve the lives of local people.
Within each Integrated Care System is an Integrated Care Board (ICB).
An easy way to remember it is:
ICS = the wider partnership
ICB = the NHS organisation within it
Which ICB covers Westmorland and Furness?
This is where things get a little more complicated.
Healthwatch Westmorland and Furness' area does not fit entirely within one ICB boundary.
NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board covers much of Westmorland and Furness but specifically excludes a number of areas within the council boundary.
This means the NHS organisation responsible for planning services can depend on where in Westmorland and Furness you live.
Where does Healthwatch fit in?
Healthwatch is independent of the NHS.
Our role is different from that of an ICB. We listen to people's experiences of health and social care and help make sure those experiences are heard by the organisations responsible for planning and providing services.
That means when an organisation such as an ICB is reviewing or developing a service, Healthwatch can help ensure local people's voices are part of the conversation.
You don't need to understand how every part of the NHS works to have your say.
If you've had an experience of health or social care in Westmorland and Furness – good, bad or somewhere in between – we want to hear from you.