Our three main functions
NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) is the strategic commissioner for West Yorkshire, system coordinator of the Integrated Care System, and integrator of providers and services.
Strategic commissioner
We work to ensure that services are planned and delivered in a way that meets the needs of the population both now and in the future. This involves a systematic approach to defining and measuring outcomes, using data and intelligence to make informed decisions about resource allocation and service delivery
System coordinator
We bring partners in the Integrated Care System (ICS) together to agree and deliver its five-year strategy and ensure delivery of local and national priorities by working together effectively and taking mutual responsibility for the results. We co-ordinate the governance of the ICS (known as 'West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership') and its wider arrangements for collaboration, within a framework of distributed leadership
Integrator
Place-based integrator teams will assess population health risk and facilitate place provider partnerships to co-design new integrated models of care.
NHS West Yorkshire ICB's strategic objectives
- To improve outcomes and reduce inequalities, built on a deeper understanding of population need and with a focus on priorities set out in our strategic commissioning plan.
- To commission quality, safe services that demonstrably improve outcomes and address unwarranted variation.
- To deliver our commissioning responsibilities within available resources and make allocation / contract decisions that support our priorities.
- To assure and improve performance against operational standards and the Modern Service Frameworks, utilising key enablers.
- To develop a new Integrated Care System including relationships with Place and WY Provider Collaboratives, the Mayoral Strategic Authority, Local Authorities, Health and Wellbeing Boards and the Region.
- To scale sustainable neighbourhood health models that improve proactive and preventative care, reducing growth in non-elective activity and improving access.
- To address unwarranted variation in access, outcomes, and experience across neighbourhood services, enabling more people to remain well and supported at home.
- To support the development of mature, accountable Place Provider Partnerships.
- To build a compassionate and inclusive workplace that supports, rewards and develops all colleagues.
- To develop the organisational capabilities required to be a high performing strategic commissioner.
Our new ICB operating model
Over the last 18 months NHS West Yorkshire ICB has been undergoing a process of organisational change to reduce our size and to re-focus our role as a strategic commissioning organisation, in line with the national Model ICB Blueprint. Our new operating model went live from 1 September 2026.
How we make decisions
The Board of the Integrated Care Board
ICB board meetings are held in public every two months and are available to view live on our website along with the agenda and papers for each meeting.
Integrated care board committees
The committees support the Integrated Care Board and provide assurance that our health and care system is performing its duties correctly and to a high standard.
Accountability
The integrated board is formally accountable to NHS England. NHS England will carry out an annual assessment of the board’s performance and will publish a report summarising its assessment. NHS England has powers to intervene if it is satisfied that the ICB is failing to discharge any of its functions.
Our constitution
The integrated care board members will oversee how money is spent and make sure that health services work well and are of high quality, bringing together hospitals and community providers, primary care (for example GPs, community services, dental services, pharmacy), local councils, hospices, voluntary, community and social enterprise sector organisations and Healthwatch partners in our local places. To help enable this, we have a constitution.
The constitution is an important document that sets out what the board will do and how it will work. We developed the constitution following NHS England guidance and with the support of our partners and stakeholder. The involvement period in 2021 produced responses from partners, external stakeholders, and members of the public. You can read the feedback here.
To support the constitution, there is a governance handbook. This sets out how decisions are made, and the arrangements needed to do this. It builds on our existing collaborative work to establish more robust mutual accountability and break down barriers between our separate organisations.
Collaborative forums
Several collaborative groups support our decision making, these are made up health and leaders across our area. These include the Partnership’s system leadership executive, which brings together the senior leaders from across our health and care system. The clinical forum and finance forum ensure that all decisions are informed by clinical and finance expertise.
- West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts
- West Yorkshire Mental Health Services Collaborative
- West Yorkshire Combined Authority
- Hospice Collaborative
- Community Provider Collaborative