Morag Barrow has been appointed as the incoming Chief Officer for the Falkirk Integration Joint Board, set to take up her post at the beginning of January. Current interim management arrangements will remain in place until then. Additionally, Cat Robertson has been appointed as a non-voting Care Experienced Representative, nominated by the Falkirk Champs Group, and Claire McKenzie joins the Performance, Audit, and Assurance Committee as a new NHS Forth Valley member. The Partnership’s Transformation Programme is progressing, with engagement underway to design a new model of care, with IJB decisions on service links expected in its March 2027 meeting.
A significant financial update revealed a projected overspend of £4.956m across integrated budgets and £3.645m in set-aside budgets for large hospital services for the 2026/27 financial year. With £18.529m in reserves, of which £16.274m is committed, the IJB's contingency reserves are likely to be fully utilised this financial year if current spending continues. This highlights the necessity of the Partnership’s transformation programme to meet future needs within available resources.
The Board approved a refreshed Scheme of Delegation, last updated in 2017, to streamline operations by empowering officers to handle routine business between meetings, allowing Board members to concentrate on strategic priorities.
Governance updates included a review of the IJB Strategic Risk Register, which remains unchanged since the last version, and a review of the Terms of Reference for the Performance, Audit, and Assurance Committee (PAAC), updated to include additional IJB members with lived experience.
Frontline health and social care staff are reminded to participate in the winter vaccination programme, with free influenza vaccinations available. The next IJB meeting is scheduled for 11 December.
