GPs support CCG “merger”

Doctors across Shropshire voted 21 to one to support the “merger” of the county’s two clinical commissioning groups, a report says.

Telford and Wrekin’s and Shropshire’s CCGs have committed to dissolve and form a “single strategic commissioner”, and have a less than a week remaining to apply to NHS England for permission.

In a report for a county-wide health committee, senior officers from both organisations say 35 GPs within the Shropshire CCG area supported the dissolution, one opposed it, one abstained and four more entered no vote. In Telford and Wrekin, seven voted “yes”, one voted “no” and five abstained.

But, at a recent council meeting, Telford and Wrekin cabinet member Andy Burford said he feared amalgamation would leave the smaller borough “worse off”, and an opposition member said concerns its resources could be used to “pay off Shropshire’s debts”.

In a report for the Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Telford and Wrekin CCG Accountable Officer David Evans and his Shropshire opposite number David Stout write that both boards agreed to support the dissolution in May. They have until September 30 to apply to NHS England for permission, and aim to have the new commissioning body in place by April 2020.

They add that NHS England has set a 20 per cent running costs reduction target for CCGs, and a single organisation will be more efficient and duplicate less work.

Mr Evans and Mr Stout write: “On September 17, 2019, GP membership across both Telford and Wrekin and Shropshire voted to support the dissolution of the two current CCGs and the creation of a single strategic commissioning organisation.

“In addition, the GP membership also voted to support the clinical composition of the governing body of the new CCG as, initially, being three GPs from Telford and Wrekin and three from Shropshire. The chair of the new organisation will be elected from, and by, these six.”

The JHOSC will discuss the report when it meets in Shrewsbury on Wednesday, October 2.

At a full session of Telford and Wrekin Council, Conservative Ian Fletcher said that Telford and Wrekin CCG has a deficit of “about £4 million” while Shropshire’s is “about £40m, likely to rise to £76m”.

He asked: “Will the resources apparently used in Telford at this present time not be used to pay off the debts of Shropshire?”

Cllr Burford, who holds the health and social care portfolio in the Labour-run administration, said: “I think that’s an important question. Clearly, it won’t be presented in that way, but if you bring two bodies together and they’ve got debts of this size – and, incidentally, the Telford CCG one is likely to go above the figure you mentioned – joining together, you’ve got to address those debts, so everybody suffers as a result of that total debt.
“I fear this will mean we will be worse off, and that’s why we’re taking the line we are.

“The council has opposed the centralising approach implicit in this new single CCG, which we fear will diminish local accountability and give insufficient recognition of Telford and Wrekin’s separate identity and particular needs.

“We’ve argued that what is happening is more than just an administrative detail and is a significant change that requires full public consultation.”