Mayor calling for a county-wide NHS integrated care board

REFORM UK'S DAME ANDREA JENKYNS IS CONCERNED BY CURRENT MERGER PROPOSALS

- By IVAN MORRIS POXTON

THE Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire has called for a county-wide NHS integrated care board (ICB).

ICBs plan health services in a given area, managing the local NHS budget and working with NHS services locally, such as hospitals and GP surgeries, on a five year plan for integrated care.

Currently, two ICBs cover the county of Lincolnshire. There is Lincolnshire ICB covering the county council area of the region.

Northern Lincolnshire, including Grimsby and Scunthorpe's hospitals, are covered under Humber and North Yorkshire ICB.

The Government is looking at reduc-ing the number of ICBs, and a proposal has emerged to join together Lincolnshire ICB with ICBs covering Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.

Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, Dame Andrea Jenkyns (Reform UK), is unconvinced by this. Instead, she wants healthcare planning based on the whole of Lincolnshire.