Town’s healthcare changes are ‘not about privatisation’
HALTON Council’s chief executive has said a proposed healthcare overhaul in the town is aimed at the better integration of services and making budgets go further and not privatisation.
David Parr spoke as speculation brewed over what the creation of a ‘One Halton’ model – or ‘accountable care organisation’ (ACO) could mean for residents and patients.
He said the plans for closer integration between health and care services provided by the council and NHS organisations in the area have been on the cards since 2014 when they were first mooted and had not been triggered by massive NHS consultations underway such as the Cheshire and Merseyside ‘sustainability and transformation partnership’.
Mr Parr said the emphasis of the changes will be on how services are provided rather than any organisational overhaul and will aim to tackle issues such as different organisations doubling up and providing the same service or function needlessly.
Past problems in the health and care system included councils and health services ‘ arguing’ over who paid for what, which he branded a ‘nonsense’.
It is also hoped that closer integration will mean patients have to spend less time in hospital, travelling to hospital and can remain at home more.
Mr Parr also clarified that having a ‘badgeless’ service doesn’t mean that patients will not know which organisation they are dealing with but that health staff will still be identified accordingly as Halton Council, NHS Halton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS staff and so on.
His comments came as the local authority was due to publish a report in which it issued a clear statement opposing privatisation in the NHS, which has been one of the main fears expressed by critics of ACOs, but added that the local authority is bound by any rules that the Govern- ● ment might bring in and that he expects a national debate to take place on the topic.
The Halton Council chief executive has taken the lead on communications over the One Halton scheme after the departure of NHS Halton CCG’s former chief officer.
Mr Parr said: “We’ve been gradually working towards collaborating, working together to improve care for residents.
“I don’t envisage any organisational changes, I think the focus is in on the delivery rather than the organisational issues, it’s further integration and collaboration of provision.
“We already pool a significant amount of our budget with the CCG to ensure focus is on service provision rather than who pays for it. We have a group of elected members and officers who determine where the money comes from in the pot that the council and CCG have pooled. “The focus is on service delivery. “We’re looking to provide more provision in the community for the community so people don’t have to travel for health and social care.
“They will, on occasion, have to do that because Halton doesn’t have facilities for A&E, we have to go to St Helens or Warrington.
“If we can enhance the provision in urgent care centres, which we are looking to do, we might be able to reduce those A&E visits because people can go to the urgent care centres in Runcorn and Widnes.
“What we’re trying to do is make health care more effective outside of hospital, which I think is what people want – people don’t want to go to hospital unless they have to go to hospital.”
Mr Parr said there had been an ‘emphasis on structure’ in the speculation around forming an ACO in Halton, which he said was ‘a bit of a red herring’ and he denied that One Halton was health service privatisation or charging for previously free services.
He said: “What’s most important for us is we improve the provision by reducing duplication and making the resources go further.
“Obviously the Government can legislate and we will have to comply, but at this moment in time none of that is the focus.
“Our focus is improving the provision and making the money go further.
“There’s nothing we’re doing at the moment that focuses on doing that.
“We’re using the system rules but trying to approach it in a more collaborative way.
“If the Government changes the rules then that’s beyond our control.” ● Halton Council’s executive board is due to meet to discuss ACOs and One Halton next Thursday, March 15.