Member - Independent Reconfiguration Panel (VAC-1677)
- Body
- Independent Reconfiguration Panel
- Appointing Department
- Department of Health and Social Care
- Sector
- Health and Social Care
- Location
- London
- Number of Vacancies
- 4
- Remuneration
- Members are remunerated at a rate of £300 per day.
- Time Requirements
- 1 to 2 days per month. The IRP meets in London on the second Wednesday of alternate months. Dates for 2020 are 8 January, 11 March, 13 May, 8 July, 9 September, 11 November.
Campaign Timeline
-
Competition Launched
23/10/2019
-
Closed for Applications
18/12/2019 at 12:00
-
Panel Sift
31/01/2020
-
Final Interview Date
18, 21 & 24 February 2020
-
Announcement
03/09/2020 at 16:00
Announcement
An announcement has been made on the outcome of this appointment.
Irfan Chaudry, Nicholas Relph and Michael Scott have been appointed as members of the Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) for 3 years from 1 October 2020.
Tansi Harper and Graham Jagger have been appointed as members for 2 years from 1 October 2020.
Stephen D’Souza’s and Shera Chok’s appointments as members of the IRP have been extended for 6 months from 1 April 2020 to 30 September 2020.
The appointments will involve a time commitment of one or two days per month. Remuneration for the roles will be at a rate of £300 per day.
This appointment is made in accordance with the Cabinet Office Code of Governance for Public Appointments. The regulation of public appointments against the requirements of this Code is carried out by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
The appointments are made on merit and political activity played no part in the decision process. However, in accordance with the Code, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity (if any declared) to be made public. None have declared any political activity.
Date: 03/09/2020
Assessment Panel
- Panel Member
- William Vineall
- Added
- 23/10/2019
- Panel Role
- Panel Chair
- Positions
- DHSC senior sponsor Departmental Official
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| Political Activity | None |
|---|---|
| Notes | - |
- Panel Member
- Professor Sir Norman Williams
- Added
- 23/10/2019
- Positions
- IRP Chair Representative of Organisation
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| Political Activity | None |
|---|---|
| Notes | - |
- Panel Member
- Philippa Helme
- Added
- 22/01/2020
- Positions
- Independent panel member Independent Member
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| Political Activity | None |
|---|---|
| Notes | - |
Vacancy Description
Ministers are seeking to make 4 appointments to the Independent Reconfiguration Panel.
Role and Responsibilities of a Member
As a member of the IRP, you will work with the Chair and other members using your experience, expertise and knowledge to guide the work of the panel.
You will:
- Help the panel to assess contested proposals for changes to health services in England and provide appropriate formal advice to the Secretary of State for Health;
- Assist in providing ongoing informal advice and support to the NHS, local authorities and other interested parties; and
- Develop and help to disseminate advice on good practice.
Person Specification
Qualities required for the role of a Member
The membership of the IRP is equally drawn from three groups: Clinical, Managerial and Lay.
To be considered, you must be able to demonstrate that you have the qualities, skills and experience to meet all the essential criteria for appointment.
The Department of Health and Social Care values and promotes diversity and encourages applications from all sections of the community. The boards of public bodies should reflect the population they are there to serve. Boards also benefit from fresh perspectives, and we are always keen to encourage candidates with private sector experience to consider applying for our roles.
Essential Criteria
To be considered, you must be able to demonstrate that you have the qualities, skills and experience to meet all the essential criteria for appointment.
- Have an understanding of the difficult trade-offs normally involved in complex service change;
- Be able to show sound judgement in formulating and proposing difficult compromises, including those in which all parties may be dissatisfied;
- Be able to demonstrate excellent communication skills, with the ability to read and digest lengthy and possibly contradictory documents;
In addition, candidates should also meet the following essential criterion for the relevant membership group:
Clinical Member – secondary care
- Currently a medically qualified consultant working in the NHS with a high calibre background in clinical and service issues relating to one or more of the following: emergency and acute services; care of the elderly; specialist acute services.
Clinical member – general practitioner
- Currently a general practitioner working in the NHS with a high calibre background in research, teaching or clinical management. You should offer in-depth understanding and experience of the perspective of primary care and its contribution to high quality health services for populations.
Lay member
- You will have widespread experience of using NHS services and/or representing the views of NHS service users, their families and local communities in general.
Managerial member
- High calibre experience in healthcare management, ideally currently or recently employed in the NHS at chief executive or director level. You are likely to have experience in managing complex service change and offer skills in service redesign, major business cases, change management and public consultation.
Additional Information
Independent Reconfiguration Panel role and responsibilities
The Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) is the independent expert on changes to clinical services in the NHS. It provides advice to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on disputed proposals for changes to the NHS in England. It also offers ongoing support and guidance to the NHS and other organisations on achieving successful change. The aim is to ensure that decisions about future service configurations are sustainable and result in improved services for patients. The Panel advises on some of the most sensitive issues that directly affect the care people receive from the NHS.
Established in 2003, the IRP is an advisory non-departmental public body (NDPB). The Panel consists of a Chair and fifteen Members providing an equal balance of clinical, managerial and patient and citizen representation and supported by a chief executive and panel secretary. The chair and membership are all public appointments. Terms of reference are set by the Secretary of State. The Panel offers advice only and its remit covers proposals for reconfiguration and service change in England only.
Many NHS bodies are considering changes to the way patient services are organised. The NHS is constantly evolving. The changing needs of the population and medical advances that lead to new treatments require the NHS to think about and plan how it can provide the best service possible in the appropriate place, with the right staff and within the money available. Patients and the public more widely are part of this planning process alongside clinicians and managers. Various duties apply to the NHS in involving users in the development of services.
Such changes inevitably arouse considerable local and sometimes national interest. Under the Local Authority (Public Health, Health and Wellbeing Boards and Health Scrutiny) Regulations 2013, NHS organisations have a duty to consult local authority health overview and scrutiny committees (HOSC) on any proposals for substantial changes to local health services. If the local authority is not satisfied that:
- Consultation has been adequate in relation to content or time allowed
- The reasons given for not carrying out consultation are adequate
- The proposal would be in the interests of the health service in its area
- it may report the matter to the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State may ask the IRP for advice on the matter.
The panel offers free informal advice to anyone involved in issues relating to changes in the health service in their area. NHS organisations and HOSCs in particular may seek help and advice on best practice. The service is also available to patient forums, patient groups, charitable organisations and other interested representatives and individuals.
Working methods – our formal role
Wherever possible, decisions about how the NHS is run should be made locally by the people directly involved. Only proposals where the organisations involved have satisfied themselves that all other options for local resolution have been fully explored should be referred to the Secretary of State.
The following documentation is required for the Panel to undertake an assessment:
- The referral letter and all supporting documentation from the referring body
- A completed IRP assessment template providing relevant background information completed by NHS England
Assessment may be undertaken by the full Panel or by a sub-group appointed by the Chairman representing the clinical, managerial and lay membership. Members will have access to all documentation supplied and will discuss the evidence in detail before agreeing on the advice to be provided. Any additional relevant information that is provided to the IRP, from whatever source, will be taken into account in the Panel’s deliberations.
The IRP will offer advice to the Secretary of State on what further action should be taken, usually within 20 working days. The Secretary of State will consider the Panel’s advice – and may seek further advice elsewhere if desired – and subsequently announce his decision and the future action required.
Most referrals are appropriately handled in this way. Exceptionally, we may advise that further evidence is required before reporting back. This may, for example, be because we need to understand local services and circumstances better and/or wish to take evidence directly from stakeholders.
Throughout, the focus is on the patient and quality of care within the context of safe, sustainable and accessible services for local people. The Panel’s advice to the Secretary of State will be submitted on an agreed date and published on our website when the Secretary of State’s decision is announced.
Working methods – our informal role
The engagement of the local population in developing proposals for reconfiguration is essential to minimising the possibility of later referral to the Secretary of State. Services need to be developed with, not for, the people of that locality.
For many of those involved in developing and scrutinising proposals for reconfiguration of services, this will be an entirely new experience. While the individual circumstances may vary, issues of concern are often similar across the country. The Panel’s informal advisory role allows people involved in reconfiguring services to take advantage of our experience and expertise early on in the process. This helps to increase the benefit to patients and at the same time reduce the likelihood of proposals later being referred to the Secretary of State. Panel Members may review documentation and attend meetings with interested parties to advise on processes, disseminate good practice and help resolve any outstanding issues. Members also participate in workshops and conferences and partnership meetings with other bodies such as NHS England, NHS Improvement, the Centre for Public Scrutiny, the Care Quality Commission and Royal Colleges.
Further information about the Panel can be found on the IRP website https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/independent-reconfiguration-panel
How to Apply
To make an application please email your CV, a supporting letter and completed monitoring forms to:
appointments.team@dhsc.gov.uk – please quote VAC-1677 in the subject field.
If you are unable to apply by email you may send your application by post to:
Daniel Clemence Department of Health and Social Care, Room 1N09, Quarry House, Quarry Hill, Leeds, LS2 7UE
Applications must be received by midday on 18 December 2019.
In making an application please note the following:
Supporting letter
The supporting letter is your opportunity to demonstrate how you meet each of the criteria set out in the person specification. It will benefit the Advisory Assessment Panel if you can be clear which specific evidence you provide relates to which criteria. Providing separate paragraphs in relation to each criterion is common practice. Please write all acronyms in full first.
Please ensure your full name, the role to which you are applying and the corresponding reference number for the post are clearly noted at the top of your letter.
Please limit your letter to two pages, and type or write clearly in black ink.
Conflicts of interest
If you have any business or personal interests that might be relevant to the work of the IRP, and which could lead to a real or perceived conflict of interest if you were to be appointed, please provide details in your Supporting letter.
If appointed, you will also be required to declare these interests on appointment and they will be entered on a register which is available to the public.
Standards in public life and ensuring public confidence
Given the nature of public appointments, it is important that those appointed as members of public bodies maintain the confidence of the public and Government. If there are any issues in your personal or professional history (including any convictions or bankruptcy) that could, if you were appointed, be misconstrued, cause embarrassment to Ministers or the IRP or cause public confidence in the appointment to be jeopardised, it is important that you bring them to the attention of the Assessment Panel and provide details of the issue/s in your Supporting letter. In considering whether you wish to declare any issues, you should also reflect on any public statements you have made, including through social media and blogs. Due Diligence may be carried out on any publicly available information and shared with the Advisory Assessment Panel.
The panel may explore any issues you declare with you before they make a recommendation on the appointment.
Failure to disclose such information could result in an appointment being terminated, as those who hold public appointments are expected to demonstrate the highest standards of corporate and personal conduct and are required to subscribe to the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies, as part of agreeing to the terms and conditions of appointment. You can access this document at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/board-members-of-public-bodies-code-of-conduct
The IRP has its own code of practice which can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/independent-reconfiguration-panel/about
There are also circumstances in which individuals may not be considered for appointment, due to them not meeting certain eligibility criteria for appointment. For further information, please refer to Section 2.3: Eligibility Criteria of the candidate information pack
If you wish to discuss any queries on conflicts, please see the contacts section.
CV
Please ensure your CV includes:
- Your full name, title, home address, personal contact telephone numbers (land line and mobile), personal email address and details of any twitter accounts and LinkedIn accounts including your twitter handle/username.
- Similar contact details for two referees who will support your application. One referee should be the person to whom you are/were accountable in your current/most recent appointment or position of employment. Please indicate the relationship of each referee to you. References will be requested for short-listed candidates prior to interview
- Brief details of your current or most recent post and the dates you occupied this role. Please identify any past or present Ministerial appointments.
Monitoring form
Please complete the monitoring form. Diversity monitoring information will not be seen by the Advisory Assessment Panel assessing your application.
Political activity information is primarily for monitoring purposes only, however if you are shortlisted for interview, this information will be shared with the selection panel. The reason for this is that it is appreciated that such activities may have given you relevant skills, including experience gained from committee work, collective decision-making, resolving conflict and public speaking. If you have had such experience and you consider it relevant to your application for this post, you should also take the opportunity to include it separately in your supporting statement. If possible, you should not, however, identify the relevant political party in your statement.
If you are appointed to this role, please note that any political activity you declare will be published in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.
Guaranteed Interview Scheme
The Department of Health and Social Care operates a Guaranteed Interview Scheme (GIS) for disabled people. The Equality Act 2010 defines a person as disabled if they have a physical or mental impairment and the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day to day activities. Under the GIS a disabled candidate will be selected for interview if they meet the essential criteria for the post.
If you wish to apply under the GIS please complete the GIS form and return it with your application.
All applications will be acknowledged by email after the closing date.
Contacts
For further information regarding the selection process, please contact
Daniel Clemence
Appointments Team
Tel: 0113 2545335
Email: Daniel.Clemence@dhsc.gov.uk
For further information regarding the role of the IRP and the role of a Member please contact:
Name: Martin Houghton
Secretary to IRP
Tel: 020 7389 8045
Email: Martin.Houghton@dhsc.gov.uk
Please quote reference VAC-1677 on all correspondence.
If you choose to apply, we would like to thank you in advance for your time and effort in making an application.