Plan to cut millions from Shropshire NHS budget on hold
A plan to cut millions of pounds of NHS spending in Shropshire will be "completely reviewed", the new chief of Shropshire's Clinical Commissioning Group has pledged.
Simon Freeman said the in-debt CCG was in a "somewhat unfortunate place".
And he admitted proposals to address a deficit of £26 million – described by NHS officials as a 'disinvestment plan' – had been handled badly.
Mr Freeman said the cuts needed to be acted on "quickly" but revealed that nothing would be done until the next financial year because a consultation had not been carried out properly.
Shropshire CCG is in charge of NHS services in the Shropshire Council area.
The "disinvestment" proposals had included cutting GP counselling in the county, stopping the funding for a community pain service provider and closing four GP beds at the Lady Forester Nursing Home in Much Wenlock.
But the cuts are now on hold after Mr Freeman said a consultation on the measures was not appropriate and that further discussions were needed.
Mr Freeman's announcement comes only two weeks into his new role, having been appointed with a specific remit of getting to grips with the CCG's spiralling deficit. He told Shropshire Council's health overview scrutiny committee the financial problems were "serious", adding: "We need to act and we need to act quickly. The longer the delay the worse the problem will become."
He said the CCG would start the next financial year £26m in the red and that NHS England had demanded that be reduced to £20 million by the end of 2017/18.
He added: "We would do it in a way that has not been done so far. This has to be done in an open and transparent way and a way that people are aware of the basis of that the CCG are making the decision and that those decisions are appropriately consulted on."
Mr Freeman also told the committee that despite the disinvestment plan being prepared, no action had yet been taken.
He said: "Despite the fact the policy has been received by the board I am not sure anything material has been done with it. I am not aware of any disinvestment plans that exist."
A new disinvestment policy is likely to be considered at the CCG's December meeting.
