Changes to NHS organisations in the East of England

The structure of the NHS is changing to make healthcare services more efficient and reduce duplication.

In the East of England region there are six integrated care boards (ICBs) that commission most primary care and specialised care health services.

These ICBs will be restructured into three larger organisations that will work more closely together to plan and deliver care for local communities.

Why these changes are happening

These changes are part of a wider NHS transformation in response to challenging public finances.

The reorganisation aims to reduce administrative costs by around 50 per cent while refocusing ICBs on their core role as strategic commissioners.

This means they will concentrate on setting long-term health strategies for their populations and commissioning services, rather than direct delivery functions.

The changes also respond to the Darzi review, which found that the role of ICBs needed clarification to better redistribute resources and integrate care across the health system.

The new structure and leadership

From this year, the six ICBs in  the East of England will begin working in three groups or clusters, with formal mergers planned for April 2027:

  • Mid and South Essex ICB will work more closely with the geographical areas of north east Essex and west Essex, chaired by Rt. Hon. Paul Burstow, currently chair of Hertfordshire and West Essex ICB.
  • Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough ICB, and Hertfordshire will cluster together, chaired by Robin Porter, currently chair of Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB.
  • Norfolk and Waveney ICB will cluster with Suffolk, chaired by Will Pope, currently chair of Suffolk and North East Essex ICB and interim chair of Norfolk and Waveney ICB.

The current ICBs will remain legally in place until legislation changes next year, but will start collaborating more closely before then, to improve healthcare planning and delivery across the region.

The current ICBs and trusts that make up the six integrated care systems in the East of England area are as follows:

Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICS

Herts and West Essex ICS

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough ICS

Mid and South Essex ICS

Norfolk and Waveney ICS

Suffolk and North East Essex ICS

Other providers

More information about integrated care systems can be found here.