Health chiefs face ‘critical challenge’ of £30m shortfall

HEALTH and social care services in Rochdale are facing a short-term £30m budget shortfall.

Bosses say they are facing a ‘considerable challenge’ and described the situation as ‘critical’.

IT comes at a time when the borough’s health authority, NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Care Commissioning Group, is drawing up its ‘Locality Plan’, the blueprint for the health and social care in the three towns.

In a statement the HMR CCG said the plan has ‘two fundamental goals: to enable health and social care services across the borough to deliver real improvement in the lives of local people; and to ensure health and social care services can be delivered at a time of increased cost pressures’.

It adds: “The financial challenge is critical: if services continue to be delivered in the same way, health leaders will face a shortfall of around £30 million in the short term alone.”

Sandra Croasdale, HMR CCG interim programme director, said: “Our mission is to ensure people living in Rochdale are healthier and have a better future, and we need to find new ways of delivering care at a time when budgets are being squeezed significantly.

“The challenge is considerable. Our Locality Plan is at the heart of our solution and involving local people in developing it is essential. The initial engagement event in March was well attended and raised some important points. We want to feed back on the progress we are making and include the people of Rochdale in the process further.

“The Locality Plan is extremely important and will affect everyone in the borough so I’d urge local people to attend and have their say.”

Coun Jacqueline Beswick, Rochdale Borough Council’s cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said: “We want to ensure that people get the right care in the right place, at the right time and that is the aim of The Locality Plan; delivering health and social care in neighbourhood hubs. This event is an ●●Coun Jacqui Beswick, the council’s cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said they wanted to ensure people ‘get the right care, in the right place at the right time.’ opportunity for residents to get involved so I’d like to urge everyone to come along and have their say.”

The meeting takes place from 6pm-7.30pm tomorrow (Thursday) at the Centre of Wellbeing, Training and Culture (CWTC), formerly known as Multicultural Arts and Media Centre, on Station Road.