Over the last few months, both NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) have been discussing closer working and reforming the size and functions of the centre to support the Government’s priorities.
On Thursday (13 March) it was confirmed that the Government will legislate to abolish NHS England and fully integrate it into the DHSC.
As part of the need to maximise use of taxpayers’ money to support frontline services, NHS England has informed us that the running costs of local Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) will also be reduced by around 50%.
In recent years, NHS Gloucestershire has rightly been seen as a high performing ICB, delivering financial balance against a challenging backdrop and leading the way on numerous innovations and service improvements for the people we serve. As such, we will continue to make representations on behalf of Gloucestershire in relation to the scale and timing of these changes.
We need to consider the detail that will follow very carefully and in discussion with NHS England, local partners and staff determine how best to implement organisational change. We will act in the best interests of our patients and communities and of course do the best for our valued staff.
We recognise the need to continue to place efficiency at the front and centre of our agenda, but at the same time it is important we can fulfil our core responsibilities for improving health, strategic commissioning (planning and buying services) and supporting delivery of the best possible healthcare for our population.
As part of the financial reset, NHS Trusts have also been told to examine any additional corporate costs that may have risen in recent years.
The NHS Confederation has published a short summary relating to the announcements and it can be found here.
We will keep you informed of further developments.