GPs to vote on £2 billion merged health plan for Black Country and West Birmingham
Doctors are to vote on a reorganisation of primary care in the Black Country and West Birmingham – which could create a £2 billion a year health trust.
GPs are being asked to approve the merger of Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) covering Sandwell, Wolverhampton , Dudley, Walsall and West Birmingham which govern surgeries, pharmacists and dental practices.
Health bosses say the move will not affect local services to patients – and could even improve them.
Dr Ian Sykes, chairman of Sandwell and West Birmingham Clinical Commissioning Group (SWBCCG), said the merger would streamline health care and reduce management costs.
He said: “We have been told that we have have to cut our management costs in order to save money, to reinvest that resource back into the health service however it is impossible to run the full service on with 20 per cent less staff.
“So that is why we having a conversation with stakeholders on the possibility of merging with the view to possible emerging as one CCG for the whole of the Black Country and West Birmingham on April 1.”
Address
Saying the scheme does not relate to hospitals or mental health trusts, he added: “This isn’t a proposal to change any services we offer, in fact I hope if we were to merge it would actually improve services for patients.”
The proposal would be the biggest shake-up of health service in the West Midlands since the government abolished primary care trusts in 2011. The vote comes after doctors last year rejected a proposal for SWBCCG to merge with Birmingham and Solihull.
Saying the Black Country and West Birmingham share similar issues, Dr Sykes added: “We all have the same health problems, we all have major health inequalities we need to address. It makes sense to address this as one combined group rather than have four separate plans when in reality we are often addressing the same problems.”
The new CCG would have one senior management team while West Birmingham and each the four Black Country towns would have their own local managers to provide ‘niche’ needs.
If passed by doctors, the reorganisation will be submitted to NHS England for final approval expected in October.
