ICS fails in second attempt to appoint a chair

Staff at Cheshire and Merseyside ICS have this afternoon been told that no one was appointed from its latest recruitment process, which ran alongside that of other ICSs.

The ICS also failed in a previous attempt to appoint a chair earlier this year.

HSJ understands three candidates were shortlisted in the latest effort, but has chosen not to name them.

The message to staff today said: “Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership did not appoint to the position of chair of the ICS during the national recruitment process which has just been completed.

“This is a key leadership appointment and we all agree it is of paramount importance that we get the right candidate for our system. We are really pleased to confirm that David Flory, currently interim chair, and substantive chair of the Lancashire and South Cumbria ICS, has agreed to extend his interim contract with us until 31 March 2022.

“David is a highly experienced and effective chair and we welcome his continuing input and the stability this brings during our transition to an ICS. We will relaunch the recruitment process for a permanent chair early in the new year.”

A number of other ICSs have today confirmed who their chairs will be.

Cheshire and Merseyside is one of the largest and most incoherent ICSs in the country, and has struggled over the last five years to form the structures and partnership working required by the national integration agenda.

The outgoing chair and chief officer (Alan Yates and Jackie Bene respectively) had made some progress in their short tenures, but they also faced difficulties in managing local relationships. In May, they announced they were quitting because their jobs had become “something they didn’t sign up for”.