NHS England has given three CCGs legal directions in an effort to close massive deficits in their areas.
NHS North Derbyshire, NHS North Lincolnshire and NHS Solihull CCGs were each rated as ‘inadequate’ in NHS England’s CCG rating scheme for the 2016/17 financial year.
The three areas are the first to be put in legal directions this year, which will see North Derbyshire and North Lincolnshire produce improvement plans in the coming weeks.
NHS England has given three CCGs legal directions in an effort to close massive deficits in their areas.
NHS North Derbyshire, NHS North Lincolnshire and NHS Solihull CCGs were each rated as ‘inadequate’ in NHS England’s CCG rating scheme for the 2016/17 financial year.
The three areas are the first to be put in legal directions this year, which will see North Derbyshire and North Lincolnshire produce improvement plans in the coming weeks.
Solihull will also be developing an integration plan, which includes the development of ‘joint commissioning arrangements’.
Last month, NHS Solihull, NHS Birmingham CrossCity and NHS Birmingham South Central CCGs announced plans to merge from April next year to form the largest CCG in England.
Further, the legal directions will see all three CCGs will also have to produce financial recovery plans, which NHS England will then help commissioners implement.
NHS Solihull CCG reported a deficit of £2.9m in 2016/17, while NHS North Derbyshire CCG reported a £15.9m deficit and NHS North Lincolnshire CCG faces a deficit of £12.3m.
NHS England has also told NHS North Derbyshire CCG to appoint a ‘turnaround director’, while NHS Solihull CCG has been told to appoint a chief financial officer.
All three areas will have to notify NHS England before appointing anyone to their executive team or next tier of management.
In a statement NHS Solihul CCG said: ‘Although the CCG has been working in ‘financial turnaround’ since the beginning of 2017, we had anticipated that NHS England will use legal directions to support us in delivering against our financial challenges.’
It adds: ‘Solihull CCG will continue to work hard to deliver against our £18m savings target; we do not believe that this will adversely impact upon the current services being provided to patients.
‘We are committed to putting in place a strong and detailed integration plan, working closely with our local authority and health partners in Solihull and Birmingham, to develop strong joint commissioning arrangements.’
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