Former NHSE director to chair cash-strapped ICB

A former NHS England director who has also led adult social care for a council has been appointed chair of an integrated care board.

Anu Singh replaces Jonathan Fellows at Black Country ICB, following the latter’s tenure coming to an end in September.

Ms Singh was formerly director of adult social care at Kent County Council and chaired Whittington Health Trust in London. She was also director of patient, public participation and insight at NHS England and is the non-executive director for people at Birmingham and Solihull ICB.

She said: “I… hope to use my experience and work in national and local leadership roles to support the system in improving health outcomes, tackling health inequalities and making sure our local NHS is as productive as possible for the population it serves.

”Across my career I have always worked to build meaningful partnerships with communities and I look forward to collaborating with colleagues, partners, residents and patients.”

Ms Singh is joining Black Country ICB at a difficult time for the system as, although its waiting times performance is relatively strong, it is facing major challenges with finances.

Last month, it emerged NHSE had issued enforcement notices to the ICB and four of its trusts, warning that the additional staff they have recruited are “not affordable”. National commissioners said the ICB had failed to show “sufficient scrutiny”, as provider staff numbers had grown by a fifth in recent years.

The West Midlands system, which is forecasting a £119m deficit, became the latest to be issued with undertakings – a form of special measures – due to concerns over its finances.

Its deficit forecast is nearly £30m over its control total set by NHSE and its planned deficit is the second largest (as share of allocation) of any integrated care system.

The system is also preparing for the long-delayed opening of the £1bn Midland Metropolitan University Hospital next month.

Ms Singh’s appointment comes amid concerns that chair and non-executive director roles are becoming harder to fill, particularly for ICBs. Recruitment sources said many potential candidates feel the posts demand far more time than is paid for.