Dr James Kent, CEO of Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board has left to take up a secondment to NHS England’s strategy directorate.
Dr Kent led the establishment of the ICB across the three areas following his appointment as integrated care system to lead in 2020, and then as CEO of the ICB in 2021.
His new position will be as an advisor to Chris Hopson, NHSE Chief Strategy Officer and the Directorate of NHS Strategy, where he will work on a range of projects in strategy, policy, and strategic communications.
Steve McManus, previously a partner member of the ICB board and Chief Executive at Royal Berkshire Hospital (RBFT), has been appointed as new interim chief.
Javed Kahn OBE, Chair of the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West ICB, commented at McManus’s experience will be “invaluable as we develop the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care System to realise its full potential for the benefit of our diverse population.”
Having previously worked as Chief Operating Officer at Southampton University Hospital, Deputy Chief Executive at Imperial College Healthcare and Managing Director at Basildon and Thurrock Teaching Hospital, it is hoped that McManus’s extensive experience can further the ICB’s aims and goals in servicing the local community.
McManus commented: “I look forward to this new role and working across Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West as we develop our collaborative working.”
