NHS in Lancashire comfortably hired most staff than anywhere in England last year

Royal Preston Hospital car park — Royal Preston Hospital

The organisation responsible for planning NHS services across Lancashire hired more staff last year than any of its counterparts elsewhere in England, figures have revealed.

The Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) took on 406 new employees during the 2023/24 financial year – almost 150 more than neighbouring Greater Manchester, which saw the second-highest staff increase.

The statistics – based on the results of a freedom of information request published by the journal, Healthcare Leader – show that the new hires for the Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB equate to almost half its staff total.

However, the body says its league-topping recruitment tally – out of 42 ICBs nationwide – is the result of bringing in-house a number of roles that used to be fulfilled by a third-party organisation, the Lancashire and South Cumbria Commissioning Support Unit (CSU).

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands that Lancashire and South Cumbria is also at a more advanced stage than some other areas in terms of directly hiring staff responsible for the delivery of “continuing healthcare”, NHS-funded health and social care support for people with long-term, complex needs. The ICB claims that it has saved money as a result of the move.

Kevin Lavery, chief executive of the Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB, told the LDRS: “The rise in the number of staff working for the ICB is largely driven by in-housing a wide range of functions from the CSU – including finance, communications, HR, customer complaints – and, primarily, the TUPE [legal transfer] of continuing healthcare (CHC) staff, which saw 150 staff transferred and other posts recruited to by the ICB.

“Despite this, in-housing CHC services from partners has led to a reduction in running costs in relation to CSU contracts and we have clear evidence of the positive impact.

“The ICB is continuing to work collaboratively to ensure the NHS funding across Lancashire and South Cumbria provides best value for money and we are focused on improving outcomes for our patients, the public and our staff.”

ICBs were established in July 2022 and are responsible for managing local NHS budgets.

Subscribe: Keep in touch directly with the latest headlines from Blog Preston, join our WhatsApp channel and subscribe for our twice-a-week email newsletter. Both free and direct to your phone and inbox.