The transfer of renal dialysis and morbid obesity services to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) by April 2015 has been halted.
The delay in transferring the services from NHS England follows commissioners’ response to a Department of Health consultation.
The Transfer of renal dialysis and morbid obesity services to CCGs consultation advised that CCGs would be better suited to “maintain[ing] the quality of services” for users.
The transfer of renal dialysis and morbid obesity services to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) by April 2015 has been halted.
The delay in transferring the services from NHS England follows commissioners’ response to a Department of Health consultation.
The Transfer of renal dialysis and morbid obesity services to CCGs consultation advised that CCGs would be better suited to “maintain[ing] the quality of services” for users.
In a letter to the Department of Health, NHS Clinical Commissioners(NHSCC) the representative body for CCGs, said: “We strongly object to the timescale for the proposed transfer of the two services and want to raise significant concerns about the rationale that has been presented for it.”
Dr Steve Kell, co-chair of NHSCC said: “We are delighted that NHS England and the Department of Health have listened to the views and concerns of our members and halted the transfer of renal dialysis and morbid obesity that was planned for April 2015, and have committed not to make any changes before April 2016 as we asked them to do.
“Both renal dialysis and morbid obesity services are extremely important to patients and we were very clear that the case for transfer hadn’t been made for April 2015, so this is the right thing to do.
“Joining up commissioning pathways for specialist services to ensure patients get the best possible care, seamlessly, is important and CCGs are ideally placed to support the integration of services and improvements in pathways.
“NHSCC will continue to work with NHS England and the Department of Health to make sure our members are fully engaged and have the opportunity to influence the future of specialised services for the benefit of patients.“