Agreement struck to secure ongoing provision of high quality health services

The commissioners of Herefordshire’s health services and Wye Valley NHS Trust have taken a major step forward together to improve health outcomes for local people.

Closer partnership working between the two organisations has been put onto a formal footing and means there will be less focus on contractual arrangements and more effort put into making sure local people receive the best care and treatment possible, including a drive to reduce waiting times.

A complicated tariff system and a highly detailed performance matrix have consumed Herefordshire Clinical Commissioning Group and Wye Valley NHS Trust for many years.

As a replacement, in order to simplify the process, the CCG and WVT have agreed a “memorandum of understanding” which commits the Trust to a broad range of performance targets and guarantees a fixed level of income for the year.

The agreement includes an extra £2.9 million for the Trust to tackle its waiting lists – great news for local people.

“Accountability is important. It’s essential as we spend taxpayers’ money and we should therefore seek to provide value for every pound we spend,” said Glen Burley, WVT’s chief executive.

“However, the complicated contractual relationship that existed has consumed a huge amount of time and effort which has been a distraction when we should be concentrating on further improving the quality of services we provide to our patients,” added Glen.

“Importantly, this new relationship allows the Trust and CCG to work in partnership to reduce system-wide expenditure which paves the way for the creation of an ‘Accountable Care System’ for Herefordshire in the future,” added Glen.

An Accountable Care System brings together local organisations providing health and social care in a new way to provide services tailored to meet the needs of individual communities.

“This is increasingly becoming a favoured way to deliver health and social care services through the use of teams covering a range of disciplines brought together from a number of organisations and, crucially, based in the heart of communities, not in a central hub,” added Glen.

With a greater focus on both helping people to stay healthier for longer, and treating those who need care either in their homes or closer to their homes, the agreement between the CCG and WVT helps to deliver the vision of the Sustainability and Transformation Programme in Herefordshire.

Simon Hairsnape, CCG accountable officer, said: “This is great news and signals a huge step forward in terms of preserving the ongoing stability of health service provision in the county.”