Hi, my name is Lottie. I am a recent politics and international relations graduate and shortly after graduating I completed an internship programme with the NHS Confederation on the ICS Network team through IHAV.
So, what is the NHS Confederation and the ICS Network?
It is the membership organisation that brings together, supports and speaks for the whole healthcare system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. They promote collaboration across the NHS, support healthcare leaders to innovate, and provide a strong national voice for the healthcare sector.
The ICS Network is the national network for all 42 integrated care systems (ICSs) across the country. The network helps ICS leaders to exchange ideas, share experiences and challenges, and provide peer support to one another.
The role of ICSs is to:
improve population health and tackle health inequalities.
deliver integrated care for patients. This includes a focus on physical and mental health and wellbeing.
help the NHS support broader social and economic development.
I was able to immerse myself in this amazing organisation and get involved with many projects, research and more.
There are three words I can use to describe my experience with the NHS Confederation. Great. Insightful. Exhilarating!
During my three months I met many new people from different backgrounds in healthcare, policy and political roles. I also learned many new skills, such as writing, communication, and digital navigation skills. I was involved in many different projects across the different teams, including the State of ICSs 2023/24 Report, which I helped write up. It outlines the significant impact of ICSs across the country and ICS leaders’ views on their progress so far.
I also participated in research on the legal duties of the NHS to follow through with its net zero targets and the work done by Greener NHS for a webinar workshop called the Legal Duties of Net Zero. I also helped set up an advertisement page for this webinar on the NHS Confederation’s website and practiced writing emails to invitees.
All in all, I was able to gain great insight into the work done by the NHS Confederation and what role they play in supporting and empowering healthcare organisations including ICSs, acute, community, primary care, mental health and ambulance services, as well as voluntary and independent sector providers.
This experience has further encouraged me to look into a career in organisations that focus on health policy and to be more open-minded to similar organisations when applying for jobs in the future!
The support given to me by the NHS Confederation as well as IHAV was also amazing! I was able to express my concerns and worries openly and get support on my work or any challenges that I faced. For instance, I was able to do hybrid work, meaning that I could work from home some days, which was suitable when I had personal matters to attend. Additionally, on my first week, I was able to travel to the All-Staff Conference in Leeds and I was able to ask questions and be reassured of my travels, costs and work. It was nice to have someone there to support me during my internship because it can be quite daunting heading into a new role, but I felt confident to work at the best of my ability.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for jobs in policy. It was an unforgettable experience!
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