Delegating specialised services to ICSs brings a welcome shift of planning for these services closer to patients, with the potential for ICBs to improve service design and better plan patient care.

The prize in creating ICBs is improved clinical services that can better respond to population health need and bear down on entrenched structural health inequalities. It is therefore vital that the building blocks for effective commissioning – which can enable improved service quality and population health gain – are in place.

This panel session brings together healthcare leaders to discuss how specialised services can be embedded in local health services and provide long-term sustainability of the NHS for the benefit of all patients.

This session has been developed in partnership with NHS Confederation and funded by Boehringer Ingelheim.

This session is part of the Sustainable Healthcare Theatre, which is sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim.