Selling to NHS Integrated Care Boards (ICBs)

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are the statutory NHS bodies that plan and commission most health services for their populations, making them central customers for clinical services, community care and health tech. Understanding how they buy is essential for any healthcare supplier in England.

How ICBs commission

Since 2023, many NHS clinical service arrangements fall under the Provider Selection Regime (PSR) rather than standard procurement rules. The PSR gives ICBs more discretion, including the ability to continue with an incumbent or select without full competition where justified, which changes how suppliers position themselves. Non-clinical goods and services still follow mainstream public procurement.

What this means for suppliers

• Relationships and evidence matter earlier, decisions may not always go to open tender
• Transparency notices are still published, watch them to see intended awards
• For goods and non-clinical services, standard Find a Tender / Contracts Finder routes still apply

Finding ICB opportunities

ICB opportunities and PSR transparency notices surface across Find a Tender and Contracts Finder. Because there are dozens of ICBs each publishing separately, tracking them all manually is impractical, see how to find NHS tenders.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Provider Selection Regime?

A set of NHS-specific rules (from 2023) for procuring clinical healthcare services, giving ICBs more flexibility than standard procurement, including selecting without full competition in defined circumstances.

Do ICBs still publish tenders?

Yes, for goods and non-clinical services under standard rules, and PSR transparency notices for clinical services, both visible on Find a Tender and Contracts Finder.