Empowering ICBs
Think tank: Bright Blue
Author(s): Conrad Bannister
November 11, 2024
This report from UK think tank Bright Blue examines ways in which further devolution of powers and resources to Integrated Care Boards will help improve NHS efficiency.
The NHS in England is failing to deliver. Public satisfaction is at an all-time low, there are long waiting lists for elective and primary care, and access to community and social care is, in effect, rationed.
The UK also performs below its European peers on life expectancy and the quality of both prevention and treatment despite spending a higher percentage of GDP on healthcare than many of them.
Meaningful reform to the NHS in England will be achieved by empowering Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), the prime focus of this report. Just as giving academy schools autonomy while holding them to exacting standards improved pupil outcomes in England in recent decades, the NHS must now empower its local leaders through ICBs to drive healthcare reform.
Bright Blue’s new report examines ways in which further devolution of powers and resources to Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) while holding them to account through patient-focussed performance outcomes will help improve performance and efficiency in the NHS.
