‘Talk to us’ Government tells Mayor after calls for a Greater Lincolnshire NHS Board

The Mayor has written to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care - Wes Streeting – suggesting instead that Greater Lincolnshire has one ICB. Currently the area is covered by both the Lincolnshire ICB and the Southbank of the Humber and Yorkshire ICB.

In her letter, Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, Dame Andrea Jenkyns, said: “Whilst I recognise that the country needs to things more efficiently, I am deeply concerned about the proposals to merge the Lincolnshire ICB with Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB, and the Derby and Derbyshire ICB, who would then cover a population of 3.2 million people spread over more than 4,500 square miles of the country."

Nationwide, proposals for ICBs across England aim to cut costs by 50%.

Dame Andrea continued: “Greater Lincolnshire is a large geographical area, with dispersed populations. The Combined County Authority aims to drive economic growth for the region, and integral to that will be high quality health services.

“Our residents deserve services that are tailored to their needs – particularly those in rural and coastal communities, and I don’t feel the proposals offer this. A Greater Lincolnshire ICB would be consistent and aligned with other public services whilst still enabling cost savings.”

In response, a government spokesperson told Lincolnshire World: “This government has invested an extra £26 billion in our NHS to cut waiting times for patients. At the same time, we are cutting back on unnecessary bureaucracy and duplication across the health service – including in ICBs - so that we can reinvest the savings in the frontline.

“The Secretary of State is considering a range of options but no final decisions have been made. We would invite the Mayor to submit her ideas for how cost savings can otherwise be achieved, which we are happy to consider.”