Oxford Health has welcomed the appointment of Javed Khan as the new Chair (Designate) of the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board (BOB ICB) which is set to come into being next April.

Integrated Care Boards and Integrated Care Partnerships are set to take over from Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) across England, if Parliament confirms current plans in the new NHS Health and Care Bill.

ICBs will bring partner organisations together in a new collaborative way with common purpose. Across the region hospitals, mental health trusts, ambulance service and councils will come together jointly to address problems in social care and streamline health services. Within a single budget, local government and the NHS can better plan for the care of people in the area.

Javed Khan is the former chief executive of Barnardo’s, the UK’s largest children’s charity and will bring valuable experience from public and voluntary sectors into the NHS, where he has held non-executive board roles in hospital trusts and commissioning groups.

David Walker, Chair of Oxford Health, said:

“The NHS is going through a silent revolution. In our area –known as BOB – we are aiming to give patients a much more streamlined service as we work more closely together within the NHS and between clinics and hospitals and councils.

“We’re delighted with the appointment of Javed Khan, who will bring his huge experience of children’s services, schools and charity work to our area. Under his leadership we will accelerate our efforts to share our services, reduce duplication and cut costs – for the sake of offering patients a better experience.

“In the Thames Valley area all public services face common problems of recruiting and retaining staff, who face high housing and living costs. We can only deal with them by working more closely together.”