Changes to the NHS in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire – 26 September update
Update as of 26 September
We are pleased to confirm that Shane Devlin has been named as Chief Executive Officer of the NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (BNSSG ICB) and NHS Gloucestershire ICB cluster. He will take on the role from 1 October 2025.
Shane is currently CEO of NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (ICB) and brings a wealth of experience and strong track record of health and care leadership to the new role.
Over a career spanning nearly three decades Shane has held a range of senior positions in the NHS and social care in Northern Ireland and England. Before beginning his post at Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB in February 2022, Shane was Chief Executive of the Southern Health and Social Care Trust from March 2018. Prior to this he held the post of Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service.
Commenting on his appointment, Shane said:
“I am delighted to be taking up this new role at an exciting time in the development of our two organisations and the role of ICBs.
“The move to an ICB cluster, serving 1.7 million people, brings new challenges but also new opportunities to transform services and improve health and care outcomes for our communities.
“Collaboration, partnership working and the voice of local people will be central to this and I’m really looking forward to hearing from colleagues, partners and our communities across Gloucestershire and BNSSG as we begin this new phase.
“Clearly the months ahead will be challenging as we enter a period of restructuring, while also maintaining our focus on delivering the long-term changes set out in the NHS 10-Year Plan.
“Nonetheless, we start from a strong position of considerable achievement and progress in both organisations, both of which have a strong Joint Forward Plan and a clear sense of local priorities.
“We have so much talent, enthusiasm and commitment across our two organisations and I’m looking forward to building on this and the progress we have made to date, as we move toward our new organisational structure.”
Chair of the ICB Cluster Dr. Jeff Farrar, commented:
“I am so pleased to welcome Shane to the ICB cluster and look forward to working with him. I know from first-hand experience that he is a dedicated and enthusiastic leader, passionate about providing the highest quality care for local people and committed to collaborative working and partnership.
“Shane takes up the role of Cluster CEO at a time of significant change for Integrated Care Boards and I know that under his guidance and leadership we can face the challenges and opportunities of our new organisation with confidence.”
Next steps
The current two ICB Boards will retain their statutory responsibilities this year under the clustering arrangement but will work in even closer partnership including gradually developing joint governance arrangements.
With the Chief Executive Officer role now filled, Shane will work closely with Jeff as ICB Cluster Chair to agree an executive structure for the cluster. The executive team will in turn progress detailed work on the functions and structures of the new organisation.
This continues to be a very unsettling time for ICB staff, and we are doing all that we can to provide colleagues with timely updates and opportunities to discuss the change process as new information becomes available.
All of the previous briefings and updates that have been written about NHS Changes can be found on our website.