Louise Taylor appointed as one of four new directors of health and care integration for Lancashire and South Cumbria

Louise is our executive director of adult services, health and wellbeing, and Chair of Adult Social Care and Health Partnership for Lancashire and South Cumbria. She will undertake her new role alongside her current role within Lancashire County Council.

Louise and the other new directors will be responsible for improving the health and wellbeing of residents within the four local place areas.

Louise has 25 years’ senior leadership experience, including 11 years’ experience working at director level in a local authority. She has delivered strategy and change programmes and played a key role in the Lancashire Resilience Forum during the Covid-19 pandemic, which co-ordinated services across health, local authorities and the voluntary sector.

Louise can see the opportunity for deeper integration between the NHS and local government family and the benefits this promises for the public. She is particularly keen to strengthen support and services that protect people from poor health and that enable them to keep their independence for longer.

Louise said: “It’s so important for public services to work together because the more aligned we can be with each other, the better the services we can provide to Lancashire people. 

"There's a real power in partnership that extends beyond public services to the faith, community and voluntary sectors. They don't just help us connect to our communities, but can play a vital role in co-producing and delivering them. 

"These new arrangements will help keep us all focused on what really matters – the health and wellbeing of the people we serve.”

Louise expects to take up post once she has appointed a deputy in the county council.

The new director roles are part of the recently-established Integrated Care Board (ICB), which is committed to the integration of health and care services, supporting the ambitions of the Health and Care Act 2022. As part of this we need new arrangements so that we can align and enable deeper integration with local government and these appointments will be fulfilling one of the cornerstones of legislation.

Many factors affect people’s health and wellbeing from their homes and personal finances to their education and employment. Place-based partnerships will bring together organisations and groups that provide services and care to better support people and communities.

The new directors of health and care integration for Lancashire and South Cumbria were appointed by the Board and executive team of the ICB for Lancashire and South Cumbria, in collaboration with the four upper tier local authorities; Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Cumbria and Lancashire.

The new directors are:

• Louise Taylor – Lancashire
• Claire Richardson – Blackburn with Darwen
• Karen Smith – Blackpool (interim)*
• Jane Scattergood – South Cumbria

Kevin Lavery, chief executive for NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB, said: “I am excited to welcome Karen, Claire, Jane and Louise into these exciting new roles which are fundamental to the deeper integration of health and care.

“These roles have been put in place through collaboration with local authority partners and provide a real opportunity to make a significant difference to improving the health and wellbeing of our population working in our local areas of Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Cumbria and Lancashire.”

A place-based partnership is a collaboration of planners and providers across health, local authority and the wider community, who take collective responsibility for improving the health and wellbeing of residents within a place.

The board of NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria recently made a decision to align the place-based partnerships to the four local authority boundaries to promote and enable deeper integration and collaboration with health and social care.

You can read more about place-based partnerships and changes to places here.