Humber, Coast and Vale Health and Care Partnership appoints Sue Symington as Designate Integrated Care System Chair

Humber, Coast and Vale Health and Care Partnership is pleased to announce it has appointed Sue Symington as its Designate Integrated Care System (ICS) Chair.

Each of England’s 42 integrated care systems (ICSs) are required to appoint a Chair and a Chief Executive as part of the guidance issued to help embed ICSs in legislation by April 2022, subject to legislation approval.

Sue will also be appointed designate Chair of the anticipated NHS Integrated Care Board (ICB) and Integrated Care Partnership (ICP). Final appointment to the role of Chair of the ICS, ICB and ICP is dependent on the passage of the Health and Care Bill, and any potential amendments made to that Bill.

Sue began her non-executive career in the NHS at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust in 2008, becoming Chair of York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (now York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust) in 2015.

Her career spans the public, private and voluntary sectors, and the hallmark of her leadership at York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has been her focus on patients and staff. Sue is also the Senior Independent Director at the Beverley Building Society.

Richard Barker, North East and Yorkshire Regional Director, NHS England and NHS Improvement, said: “We are extremely pleased to appoint Sue as our first ICS Chair in Humber, Coast and Vale. The role of ICS Chair is an extremely important one as our integrated care systems move towards legislative standing as part of the changes outlined on the Health and Care Bill.”

Angela Schofield, Chair, Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, who chaired the ICS Chair recruitment panel, said: “Given her wide range of experience in the NHS which spans more than 13  years, I’m sure that Sue will be hugely successful as ICS Chair, playing a pivotal role as the Partnership builds on the great progress made over the last five years to further develop the health and care systems to improve the health and care of our people in Humber, Coast and Vale.”

Sue Symington said: “I am pleased and proud to be the first Chair of the Humber, Coast and Vale Integrated Care System. It is a great privilege to play a leadership role in this very important partnership, which will bring together partners from health, social care and the voluntary sector to work together for the benefit of our communities.”

The HCV Partnership (ICS), as the region’s integrated care system, has also begun the process of appointing an ICS Chief Executive.

As with the Chair, the ICS Chief Executive would become Chief Executive of the HCV Partnership (ICS) NHS Integrated Care Board (ICB) should the proposed ICS legislation be passed into law.