John Govett, the designate chair of NHS Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board (ICB) is delighted to announce the appointment of 5 new designate board members.

Dr Neil Walden, Martin Sykes, Tarn Lamb, Sanj Srikanthan, and Carole Theobald have been appointed as designate independent non-executive directors (NEDS) to the new ICB board.

They join John Govett, and designate ICB chief executive officer Kate Shields who were both appointed last November.

The ICB statutory board is intended to start on July 1 2022, subject to parliamentary legislation and Royal Assent.

Between them, the designate NEDS have a wealth of experience delivering health care, bringing communities and families together to rebuild their lives, and providing people with opportunities to live their best life.

They are:

Martin Sykes, vice chair and audit committee chair.

Tarn Lamb, remuneration committee chair; and workforce committee chair.

Sanj Srikanthan, finance and performance committee chair; and board senior independent director.

Carole Theobald, quality and patient pathway committee chair; and citizen engagement committee chair.

Dr Neil Walden, chair of the ICB place committees, and is the primary care committee chair.

Designate chair of the ICB John Govett said: “After a wide search, the depth and breadth of experience of those appointed is outstanding. This new diverse group of designate independent ICB non-executive directors were unanimously appointed by our final selection panel.

“Neil, Carole, Sanj, Tarn and Martin will begin to join me and our health and care system as designates from February 2022, and we will begin to shadow NHS Kernow’s board and its scrutiny committees to ensure a smooth handover and transition to our ICB statutory body, once approved by Parliament and gaining Royal Assent.”

ICB chief executive Kate Shields said: “I am so pleased to welcome Neil, Carole, Martin, Tarn, and Sanj to our ICB. They each have unique skills and insight into understanding what is important to people, and how we can create a health and care system which is person-centred, clinically driven and evidence-based and will make a real difference to enable people to be safe, happy and healthy from the day they are born.

Martin Sykes: Martin has extensive NHS experience and is a qualified accountant, currently as the vice chair and non-executive director of NHS University Hospital Bristol and Weston Foundation Trust, where he chairs its finance and digital committee, and sits on its audit committee. Previously he was the Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust director of finance and its deputy chief executive.

Sanj Srikanthan: Sanj is ShelterBox Trust’s chief executive officer, a global humanitarian organisation based in Truro.

He was formerly the senior vice president Europe and executive director for the International Rescue Committee UK (IRC-UK); and former chair of IRC Sweden; trustee of IRC Belgium, and IRC Deutschland. He is currently chair of the Start Network, a group of charities leading on decentralising how aid is delivered.

Sanj has worked in emergencies around the world including the Ebola response in Liberia, and the conflicts in Syria and Mali. Before working in international development, he was a Captain in the British Army.

Tarn Lamb: Tarn is an England committee member of the National Lottery Community Fund, and also the chief executive officer of Cornwall Neighbourhoods for Change.

Tarn has a depth of leadership, systems change and business development experience at both executive and in a variety of non-executive roles in the charity and social care sector. She is a champion of equity, diversity and inclusion with the skills to bring diverse audiences together to achieve shared community outcomes.

Carole Theobald: Carole is CEO for iSightCornwall (a not-for-profit organisation), and chair of the Truro town deal board. She was previously

Cornwall Council’s service director for strategy, localism and communications. She has extensive change management and customer/brand experiences, and working with housing associations. Carole has undertaken executive and board roles across the water industry, economic development, community, and health and social care, mostly within a diverse multi-stakeholder public sector environment.

Neil Walden: Dr Neil Walden has enjoyed a long career as a GP in Cornwall, working as a partner in Marazion Surgery until his retirement last autumn.

He is a passionate advocate of working in partnership with people, and listening to their experiences of care, understanding what’s important to them to solve problems and create solutions. Neil’s calm and considered leadership, clinical insight and experience has informed the way care is designed and delivered in west Cornwall. He achieves this by ensuring people remain at the heart of redesigns and plans, and challenges others to do the same. This has included bringing together the NHS, providers, patients, and the voluntary sector to co-design an integrated community health and care service in west Penwith.

Neil’s experience, understanding and appreciation of the importance of working in partnership with the voluntary sector will be a driving force in this new role.

He has been a clinical leader of the west integrated care area, and a member of the west Cornwall integrated care board. He has lately chaired the Penwith integrated care public forum, and was a locality lead GP and clinical director of Penwith’s primary care network.

Neil has an excellent appreciation of the complexity attached to partnership arrangements in primary care networks working across Cornwall and will use this to ensure plans are patient-centred and informed by clinical evidence