About the Integrated Care Board (ICB)

The Integrated Care Board (ICB) is a statutory body responsible for local NHS services, functions, performance and budgets. It is directly accountable to the NHS and is made up of local NHS trusts, primary care providers, and local authorities.

The ICB is responsible for joining up care services to improve patient experience in the community. The Board includes a chair, the chief executive and representatives from NHS organisations, primary care (GPs) and local authorities (councils). 

The Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) is a statutory committee that brings together all system partners to produce a health and care strategy. As a forum to support partnership working, the ICP brings together local authorities, health and social care, and housing providers.

How does it work?

The ICB helps bring together hospitals and family doctors, physical and mental health, the NHS, local councils and community and voluntary sector services.

By bringing together partners, it allows for greater input from all those involved in delivering services, resulting in better care wrapped around individuals.

Why do we have an Integrated Care Board?

The ICB ensures that the best possible care is available to people in our communities. It constantly assesses what needs to change to meet the level and complexity of care in the county. The ICB ensures that integrated care improves population health and reduces inequalities between different groups.

Our Five-Year Joint Forward Plan

As an integrated care system of health and care partners, we have a shared vision to work better together to make Northamptonshire a place where people are active, confident and empowered to take responsibility for good health and wellbeing, with quality integrated support and services available for them when they need help.

The NHS Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board Five-Year Joint Forward Plan sets out how we are working to achieve this vision, linking directly with the Northamptonshire Integrated Care Partnership ‘Live Your Best Life’ Strategy, published earlier in 2023, and also with the Health and Wellbeing Board Strategies for North and West Northamptonshire.

This plan is just the start of a process of working together as health, care and public sector organisations, and with the communities we serve, to achieve our shared vision. We will listen to our communities and ensure their voices are heard as we continue to develop the activity set out in our plan over the five-year plan period.

Through robust ongoing engagement and co-production with a wide range of communities and stakeholders, we will make sure meaningful conversations take place so we can better understand and respond to what matters most to the people of Northamptonshire.

Download the NHS Northamptonshire ICB Five-Year Joint Forward Plan 2023-28 [pdf] 8MB