Community care in line for a shake-up with merger plans
HEALTH GROUPS BEGAN TO UNITE TO SAVE CASH AS BUDGETS SHRINK
HEALTH chiefs and GPs in charge of community care in Huddersfield and North Kirklees are seeking a formal merger.
Greater Huddersfield and North Kirklees CCGs (clinical commissioning groups) were formed in 2013 after Kirklees Primary Care Trust (PCT) was scrapped.
The move was part of a nationwide shake-up of primary health care by then Health Secretary Andrew Lansley.
But over the past five years many CCGs have begun to merge in a bid to save cash amid reducing budgets.
The Governing Bodies of Greater Huddersfield and North Kirklees CCGs agreed on Wednesday to apply to NHS England to dissolve the two organisations and create a single CCG for Kirklees.
They have vowed the move will not result in any change to local health services or impact directly on patients, their families or carers.
The two CCGs had already moved into shared offices in Huddersfield town centre and were sharing a chief officer and senior management team.
Chief Officer Carol McKenna said: “Becoming one CCG is the next logical step for us and the best way to support the needs of our population into the future. Having the same boundary as Kirklees Council will make it easier for us to work together to improve health and social care services for local people.”
As part of the process of bringing the two organisations together, the CCGs will undertake a public engagement exercise with feedback being used to inform and support the formation of the new organisation. The decision to create a single CCG for Kirklees was supported by the GP membership of both organisations. The CCGs will make an application to NHS England to become a single organisation from 1 April 2021. A decision is expected before the end of 2020.