Despite increases in the borough's population, the organisation that pays for NHS services in Enfield is being asked to cut its expenditure by nearly five per cent this year.
The scale of savings being required was revealed at the 11th May meeting of the governing body of Enfield Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). At the meeting it was confirmed that the CCG has been ordered to institute a Recovery Plan in order to clear its deficit, totalling £33.4 million. This figure equates to nearly 9 per cent of its annual allocation of £330 million.
The CCG, a GP-led body which pays for all NHS services for the borough's residents, was set up in late 2012 as part of the major health service reform carried out by the Coalition Government. That it should have built up such a large deficit so quickly suggests that its initial allocation of funding was inadequate.
The CCG's spending reduction target for the current financial year was originally £9.9 million, but NHS England has now ordered further cuts, bringing the savings target up to £17.1 million. The CCG is due to draw up a plan to achieve these savings by the end of May, after which it will be discussed with NHS England before decisions are made about its implementation. Asked to provide assurances that the cuts would not cause unacceptable deterioration in local services and possible risk to patients, the CCG management stated that "the CCG is a clinically led organisation – decisions will not be made without clinical support".
The next meeting of the CCG's Governing Body is on 13th July at 2.30pm. Members of the public may observe, but not speak. However, they can submit written questions in advance - these must refer to items on the agenda. For more information see the CCG website.
Links to documents
- Written questions and answers relating to items on the agenda of the Governing Body meeting. in addition to questions about funding, these address a range of issues, including conflicts of interest, the primary care urgent access pilot, instructions to GPs not to prescribe "over the counter" medicines, and hospital weekend mortality figures
- Agenda, minutes and other paperwork relating to the meeting on 11 May 2016
