Which decisions are made at Region level in the NHS in England? How do finances and funding work at this level? And how can industry best support and engage with Region leaders?
In February 2024, we sat down with guest speaker Richard Smale (Interim Director of System Co-ordination, NHS England [NHSE] – South West) for an all-encompassing discussion that explored finance, funding flows, system priorities, and the decision-making process in NHS Regions.
Many of our audience may remember Richard from our NHS Transformation Symposium in September 2023, where he shared some fascinating insights into the priorities and challenges facing integrated systems. Richard has since moved to a new role at Region level. With NHSE Regions becoming increasingly prominent, not least in the new specialised commissioning systems, we were delighted to welcome Richard back to explore funding flows, system management, and decision-making at this level.
Richard heads up system co-ordination work across the NHS South West Region. The Region has seven Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), 22 Trusts, nine counties and a resident population of over 5.5 million patients stretching from Gloucestershire and Wiltshire to the Isles of Scilly.
The webinar was led by David Thorne (Principal Consultant, Mtech Access and Transformation Director at Well Up North Primary Care Network [PCN]) who put both the NHS and industry perspectives to Richard to explore the real state of the NHS.
In this webinar, David and Richard discussed:
- Where the NHS is heading and what this means for your strategy and business planning
- Decision making, finances, and funding flows across the NHS
- The role of NHS Regions, particularly with key funding decisions like Specialised Commissioning
- Delivering service change across integrated systems
- Policy priorities in practice and what to expect in an election year
- How Pharma, Medtech, and Diagnostics companies can best engage NHS leaders at Region level
Listen to the podcast:
This episode is also available as a podcast. Listen below or search ‘Pharma Market Access Insights – from Mtech Access’ on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts.
About our speaker
Richard Smale (Interim Director of System Co-ordination, NHS England – South West)
Richard had recently joined NHSE South West as an Interim Director of System Coordination. In this role, Richard is working at the interface between the ICSs in the South West and NHSE, coordinating the way NHSE Resources are deployed to support the work of each system.
For the previous 4 years, Richard was Executive Director of Strategy and Transformation in Bath & North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire, during which time he gained a detailed understanding of how the changes that were introduced as part of the Health and Care Act 2022 are being implemented, and the challenges that the ICSs face in improving the health and wellbeing of the local population.
This webinar forms part of our monthly NHS Whispers series, in which we have in-depth, comprehensive conversations with senior colleagues from the NHS. We explore what their immediate priorities are, what they see as the greatest challenges currently faced by the NHS, and how the NHS might respond to these challenges.
Recent webinars in the NHS Whispers series, now available on-demand, include:
- January 2024: ‘NHS policy for 2024/25: strategy and engagement in a world of uncertainty’, a panel discussion featuring leaders from across the NHS
- December 2023: ‘Specialised commissioning in the NHS – how to plan for 2024’ with guest speaker Malcolm Qualie, former Medicines Lead for Specialised Services, NHS England
- November 2023: ‘Integrated care in NHS Wales – what can England learn from its neighbour?’ with guest speaker, Paul Mears, CEO, Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board
- October 2023: ‘Unmet need in NHS primary care – how can industry best support PCN leaders?’ with guest speaker, Dr Farzana Hussain, GP Principal, The Project Surgery
- September 2023: ‘Population health management: a community effort across health and life sciences’ with guest speaker, Dr Mark Davies, Global Chief Health Officer, IBM
- June 2023: ‘The role of nursing in driving digital change in the NHS’ with Jennie Smith, registered nurse, Medtech launch specialist and Director of NHS Insight & Interaction, Mtech Access
- April 2023: ‘Primary Care and ICBs – what is the next step in the integration journey?’ with guest speaker, Tim Goodson, Executive Officer, Dorset General Practice Alliance
- March 2023: ‘Data-led transformation in the NHS – partnering to optimise patient care’ with guest speaker, Stephen Slough, Chief Digital Information Officer, NHS Dorset
