From 1 April 2025, the responsibility for commissioning specialised mental health, learning disability, and autism (MHLDA) services will be delegated to 11 Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) in the East and West Midlands.
The NHS Black Country ICB received its first set of delegated specialised services in April 2024 and over the last 12 months has been working in partnership with NHS England (NHSE).
Specialised services support people with a range of rare and complex conditions, and often involve treatments provided to patients with rare cancers, genetic disorders or complex medical or surgical conditions. They deliver cutting-edge care and are a catalyst for innovation, supporting pioneering clinical practice in the NHS.
By transferring MHLDA specialised commissioning to ICBs, the NHS aims to improve patient care, reduce health inequalities, and enhance outcomes.
Decision-making will be at East Midlands and West Midlands Joint Committees where each of the ICBs will be represented and decisions on all delegated specialised services –MHLDA and acute – agreed.
Services will then be delivered through NHS-Led Provider Collaboratives, which will oversee local care pathways in the East and West Midlands.
Each Provider Collaborative will be led by an NHS Lead Provider. This Lead provider is responsible for sub-contracting its partners to support the range of services required for its patients. The Lead Provider also has day to day responsibility for the oversight and assurance of the delivery of these services, with robust governance arrangements in place to support escalation and decision-making.
NHSE teams working on MHLDA specialised services will transfer over and work on behalf of all 11 ICBs in their work with Provider Collaboratives.
