Chief Primary Care Officer appointed to new Integrated Care Board

Nicky Poulain has been appointed as the Chief Primary Care Officer for the new NHS Bedfordshire, Luton, and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board, when it is established on 1 July 2022.

After working as a nurse, midwife and community specialist practitioner in London, Nicky was the Associate Dean for Primary Education in Hertfordshire and Barnet between 1999 and 2003.  Nicky has also held several director roles across the NHS in Hertfordshire, before moving to Luton CCG in 2014. Following the creation of the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes CCG in April 2021, Nicky has been the Director of Primary Care.

Speaking about her appointment Nicky said:

“I am delighted to be appointed as the Integrated Care Board’s new Chief Primary Care Officer, which will allow my colleagues and I to work with primary care teams locally in Bedford Borough, Central Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes to review and redesign services with our partners to meet the needs of our communities.  Key to that work will be understanding and acting upon the views and expectations of residents.

“I am passionate about true collaboration and strive for an integrated and personalised health and social care system for the local population.  With this in mind, my main focus is always on patient outcomes and improving the wellbeing of patients and their families.”

Confirming the appointment, Felicity Cox, Chief Executive Designate for Bedfordshire, Luton, and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board said:

“The Chief Primary Care Officer is a very important role for the Integrated Care Board, as it helps to ensure that local GPs and their teams have a voice at the heart of decisions made both locally and across our system as a whole. This is why I am delighted that Nicky will be joining the team.

“The next 10 years represents a major challenge as we not only recover services following the Pandemic, but also design them going forward around the needs of our population in ways that help health inequalities to be tackled. There is an opportunity for us to think differently about how we deliver health and care, in particular primary care, which makes Nicky’s experience invaluable.”

Following Royal Assent of the Health and Care Act, 2022 in April this year, the Integrated Care Board will be established as a legal entity on 1 July 2022.