Message from Graham Urwin, Designate Chief Executive of the Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board.

Today, we welcome Graham Urwin to his new role as Designate Chief Executive of the Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board.

Graham joins us from his most recent role as Director of Performance and Improvement at NHS England and Improvement North West and brings a wealth of experience and knowledge.

In a welcome message to staff and partners, Graham said: “Firstly, I’d like to thank Sheena Cumiskey for her first-class stewardship of the Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership over the last three months. Sheena remains an integral part of the Partnership in her substantive role as Chief Executive of Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

“We all now have an incredibly busy three months ahead of us as we head towards being formally designated as an Integrated Care Board (ICB) in April 2022. However, at no time will we lose sight of today’s delivery challenges. This couldn’t be demonstrated more clearly than in this week’s announcement around the Covid Vaccination Programme. Covid-19 remains a priority, with vaccination being our most effective defence against this virus. Following the identification of a new variant (Omicron), eligibility for a booster has been extended to all adults – an additional 26 million people – as well as the time between doses being reduced to three months. Children aged over 12 will also be offered a second dose. This means vaccine delivery will have to be significantly stepped up.

“At the same time, our focus must also be on the ongoing recovery from the pandemic and restoration of our services to retain patient and public confidence and maximise safety. We must tackle the backlog of people waiting for treatment and services, recognising and addressing the fact their needs may have increased. As we do this, we must maintain a balance between our advocacy for patients and citizens, and looking after our health and care staff, who have already given so much. We are in the midst of a challenging winter period, with huge demand on our emergency provision. Staff have given their all. Looking after their health and wellbeing is a personal priority.

“Whilst I’m fully aware of the scale of our challenges, I am confident in the talent, skill, professionalism and commitment here in Cheshire and Merseyside.

“I look forward to working with all partners to focus on eliminating those unwarranted variations in the quality of our services; tackling the unacceptable inequalities in the health of our population; and providing excellence, affordability and sustainability for the people of Cheshire and Merseyside.”