Is it an emergency?The NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB) plans and buys healthcare services for our population. This function is commonly referred to as ‘commissioning’.
To do this, we work within a budget of around £1.5 billion, which is set by NHS England, and work closely with local government and the NHS providers in our area. Our performance is judged by how well our local health and care system as a whole is working, including the health outcomes of our communities.
The ICB has delegated some authority to the three health and wellbeing alliances that operate in Suffolk and north east Essex to act on its behalf. This is to ensure that the needs of smaller, local areas are addressed. The ICB remains accountable for all of its functions, including those it has delegated.
Local residents have a big role to play in the operation of the ICB. We rely on the experiences and perspectives of our communities to help shape our decision-making.
Our Constitution
The NHS Suffolk and North East Essex ICB’s Constitution is a legal document setting out the arrangements made to make sure the group meets its responsibilities for the people of Suffolk and north east Essex.
The document describes the governing principles, rules and procedures that will be established to ensure integrity, honesty and accountability in the day to day running of the ICB. It also sets out to ensure that decisions are taken in an open and transparent way and that the interest of patients and public remain at the heart of the ICB.
The Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) is a statutory joint committee which brings the ICB, local authorities, and wider community together.
The ICP provides a forum for NHS leaders and local authorities to come together as equal partners, alongside a broad alliance of organisations and representatives concerned with improving the health and wellbeing of our population.
This forum allows system partners to agree shared objectives, work on joint challenges, and support places and organisations that comprise the system in the interests of communities.
Together, the ICP will generate an integrated care strategy to improve the health and care outcomes and experiences for our residents, for which all partners will be accountable.
Integrated care systems (ICSs) are partnerships that bring together providers of NHS services (such as hospital trusts and primary care networks) with commissioners of NHS services (the ICB) and local authorities and other local partners. Together, they collectively plan health and care services to meet the needs of their population.
Learn more about the Suffolk and North East Essex ICS.
Health and wellbeing alliances follow the same principles at the ICS. They bring together partners from across the health and care system and together they form plans to tackle health inequalities and to improve the health and wellbeing of the communities they serve. However, whereas the ICS has an overarching view of the whole of Suffolk and north east Essex, the alliances focus on smaller areas.
These are split into West Suffolk Health and Wellbeing Alliance, Ipswich and East Suffolk Health and Wellbeing Alliance and North East Essex Health and Wellbeing Alliance. This allows teams to respond to both the specific needs and existing strengths and assets that exist in smaller, local areas.
Our geographic footprint
We are responsible for the health outcomes of communities across much of Suffolk and the north east corner of Essex.
Occasionally, the services you can access and the policies which govern them differ depending on which health and wellbeing alliance your area belongs to. Across our footprint, there are three. These are; West Suffolk, Ipswich and East Suffolk and North East Essex. You may come across references to these areas on our website.
Check which alliance area you belong to
Enter your postcode to discover which area you reside in.
Organisational structure and expenditure
All parts of the health and care system are committed to demonstrating transparency, so people we serve understand how money is spent.
Please see below a chart which shows the structure of teams within the ICB (including the number of staff within each team) as well as the total cost per team.
We are working on providing this in a more accessible format. In the meantime, if you have any questions please do get in touch at sneeicb-nee.comms@nhs.net.