Triangle interview: Gill May, Chief Nurse, Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board

Gill is Chief Nurse for BSW ICB and was previously Director of Nursing and Quality for BSW Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and has had numerous executive nurse roles since moving into commissioning in 2004. Gill has more than 30 years of experience within the NHS and has worked in both acute (hospital) and community environments.  We caught up with her recently to find out more about her hopes and ambitions for the new ICS and ICB.

What is your ambition for the BSW Integrated Care System?

My big ambition is for us to truly come together with our partners in health and care and the voluntary sector.  That is something that’s going to make a huge difference. Is it going to be challenging? – of course it is, but this is the time where we can make a huge difference to work together to meet the needs of our population.

What do you hope the ICS will achieve?

My hope is that we will start to make headway around health inequalities because it is just not acceptable that where you live, the way you were educated, what your family lifestyle is like or if you’re unemployed should have an impact on how you access health services or take up cancer screening. We need to understand our population and understand the impact lifestyle, education and other factors have on health and wellbeing – I think that’s where we can make a difference and we’ve never had an opportunity like this to do it.

What is different about this new approach to health and care?

The big difference is that it’s not just about the NHS, it’s an opportunity for partners around a table to work day to day to explore the needs of our local authorities and look at how we can do things differently, how can we pool our funding and recognising that joint funding can provide something different.

What are the main challenges to this approach?

Let’s not think this will radically change things tomorrow, this is a long-term opportunity and we need to look ahead to the difference this will make in 5 or 10 or 15 year’s time. Let’s not look for immediate change, we have to stick with this because it will make a difference

Another of the big challenges is money. We know we have got to work with what we have and we have to be more productive and more efficient to reduce duplication and to make the public more aware of how the money is spent.

What are you most personally excited about in terms of the new ICB?

I’m personally most excited that I’m continuing my journey. I’ve had 42 years’ experience in the NHS and I’m moving into something different and I’m excited that providers and commissioners are working together to make a difference.

Watch Gill talking further about her ambitions for the BSW Integrated Care Board