Publish date: 4 April 2022
NHS England and NHS Improvement have recommended, and the Secretary of State has agreed, that Raj Jain will be the new Chair-designate of the NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board (ICB), ready to take up the post from July 2022 should Parliament confirm the current plans.
Raj has extensive experience in leadership roles spanning a 26-year career in the NHS which began when he joined in 1995. Raj’s career has been marked by a committed to innovation and improvement at every NHS organisation he has worked in, and he was instrumental during his time at Salford Royal NHS FT in the successes and achievements of that organisation. He also led improvement work across Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, when the trust joined with Salford Royal NHS FT playing a pivotal role bringing both organisations together, firstly as the Northern Care Alliance group, but following formal merger of those trusts, leading the newly formed Northern Care Alliance NHS FT as its chief executive.
In addition, Raj has chaired several partnership boards, including some outside of health, with recent examples including Greater Manchester’s Diagnostic Board, Salford’s Digital Board (for the local authority) and the Working Group of the NW Black Asian Minority Ethnic Assembly.
The confirmation of Raj in this role is a significant step in the development of integrated care in Cheshire and Merseyside and the establishment of an NHS Integrated Care Board which, subject to legislation, will hold a substantial budget for commissioning high quality patient care and have the authority to establish performance arrangements to ensure this is delivered. Prior to the Government confirming its plans for the formal establishment of ICBs, Raj will join the ICS so he can help with both the establishment of the ICB and ensure the smooth transition from the current system.