NHS “segment scores” reveal organisations in turnaround

Stotles has released a free NHS resource, offering suppliers a clear window into the operational and financial health of ICBs and NHS Trusts for this year. NHS England has recently segmented these organisations into four groups (1- 4) under the NHS Oversight Framework. This report reveals this data and explains how you can effectively leverage this information to tailor your outreach strategy in 2024.

Introduction

In December 2023, NHS England revealed which segments Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and NHS Trusts have been categorised into, under the NHS Oversight Framework.

For suppliers, this information should inform who you target and who you avoid in the NHS:

Organisations placed in segments 1 and 2 are operationally and financially robust, enjoying a high level of autonomy in procurement decisions. This autonomy opens doors for suppliers to propose innovative solutions and build new business cases.
Organisations placed in segments 3 and 4 are struggling with financial, operational, or strategic targets, leading to increased management by NHS England. Here, suppliers should focus on renewing existing contracts, as these organisations are under tighter control and less likely to embark on new procurements.

Below, we preview this Segment Data for ICB’s. To access the same information for NHS Trusts, complete with video explainers on how to successfully leverage this information, download the full Stotles report here.

ICB segmentation data

Integrated Care Board	Segment
Frimley	1
Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes	2
Coventry and Warwickshire	2
Dorset	2
Gloucestershire	2
North Central London	2
North East & North Cumbria	2
North West London	2
Somerset	2
South West London	2
South Yorkshire	2

Integrated Care Board	Segment
Suffolk and North East Essex	2
Surrey Heartlands	2
Sussex	2
West Yorkshire	2
Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire	3
Birmingham and Solihull	3
Black Country	3
Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire	3
Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West (BOB)	3
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough	3
Cheshire and Merseyside	3

Integrated Care Board	Segment
Cornwall and The Isles of Scilly	3
Derby and Derbyshire	3
Greater Manchester	3
Herefordshire and Worcestershire	3
Hertfordshire and West Essex	3
Humber and North Yorkshire	3
Kent and Medway	3
Lancashire and South Cumbria	3
Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland	3
Lincolnshire	3
Mid and South Essesx	3

Integrated Care Board	Segment
North East London	3
Northamptonshire	3
Nottingham and Nottinghamshire	3
South East London	3
Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent	3
Devon	4
Hampshire and the Isle of Wight	4
Norfolk and Waveney	4
Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin	4

Table summary

Under this NHS Oversight Framework, NHS England have placed:

1 ICB in Segmentation Group 1 (2%).
14 ICBs in Segmentation Group 2 (33%).
23 ICB’s in Segmentation Group 3 (55%).
4 ICB’s in Segmentation Group 4 (10%).

Stotles’ recommendations for suppliers

Suppliers should expect ICBs in segmentation group 1 and 2 to respond most favourably to proactive engagement over new solutions. These organisations are generally under less scrutiny and have a greater degree of trust from NHS England to manage their own strategy and procurement.

For the majority of ICBs in segments 3, or 4, we recommend suppliers reach out to key decision makers to understand the reasons behind their segmentation score (i.e financial or performance based), the timeline of their recovery, and the level of oversight of NHS England.

In general, these organisations are prioritising their "turnaround", so expect these segments to be less receptive to new solutions, and focus your approach on identifying potential renewal opportunities, based on existing contracts.

Access the full report:

To unlock more insights on this data, including segments assigned to over 200 NHS Trusts, download the full Stotles report here.

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