Agenda item

Report of Adrian Stokes and Dr Sarah Raistrick, Coventry and Rugby CCG

The Board considered a report of Dr Sarah Raistrick, Coventry and Rugby CCG, concerning the future of health commissioning in Coventry and Warwickshire, proposed changes to the structure of the clinical commissioning function and the future process. Support was sought for the application to create a single merged Clinical Commissioning Group in Coventry and Warwickshire.

The report indicated as part of the NHS Long Term Plan, every Sustainability and Transformation Partnership area in the country was to be, or be part of, an Integrated Care System by 2021. The three Clinical Commissioning Groups in Coventry and Warwickshire had been considering how to accomplish this. Following a period of engagement with members, staff, partners and the public, between December 2018 and May 2019, a case for change was developed, with three possible options. Any options which involved the strategic direction of the CCG was a matter reserved to all member organisations of the CCG. Members were asked to vote on their preferred option. The Governing Bodies for each of the CCGs considered the case for change, and the potential options available. Each Governing Body chose to recommend the option of full merger to their members, with each CCG running a voting process for their members. The outcome of the vote was decisive in all three CCG areas, with members choosing by significant majority to vote for the option of full merger. For Coventry and Rugby 88 out of a possible 126 votes were cast. Of these

23 were for Option 1 – Do Nothing

12 were for Option 2 – Joint Working

53 were for Option 3 – Merger. 

The Board were informed that the three CCGs were now preparing to apply to NHS England and NHS Improvement for authorisation to become a single merged organisation. In order to apply, a number of documents had to be submitted, which are then reviewed against NHSE’s requirements for CCG mergers. The deadline for submitting these documents for a 1 April 2021 merger was 30 September 2020 with a pre-application (draft submission) deadline of 21 August 2020.

In addition, the CCGs were in the process for recruitment for a single Accountable Officer across the three CCGs. This was running concurrently with the formal application to merge, and would not be dependent on the outcome of the application progress. The Accountable Officer would be a prominent system leader across the health economy, providing a strong clinical commissioning voice to the local authorities and local health care providers. Dr Raistrick informed the Board that the date for the submission of applications had closed at the weekend and reported on the interview process which would include a virtual Stakeholder Panel. She asked if members had any questions that they would like to be asked and it was suggested that candidates be asked how they would support vulnerable residents and how they would work with hard to reach communities.

The report highlighted the benefits that the merger would bring for Coventry and Warwickshire as follows:

·  The opportunity to develop Place to meet the needs of the local population and address health care inequalities

·  Faster more efficient decision making to enhance the experience of care

·  Significant administration savings to reduce per capita cost of health care and improve productivity

·  Easier to recruit and retain staff and increase wellbeing and engagement of the workforce

·  Better access to new opportunities and funding to invest in healthcare and improve the health and wellbeing of the population.

Successful progression of the merger programme was one of the CCG key priorities over the next few months. Ongoing engagement with stakeholders and the population formed an essential part of this process, and it was important to the CCGs that the views of stakeholders were able to help to shape the potential form of the new strategic organisation. Further details as to the opportunities for engagement, particularly on the development of the Clinical Commissioning Strategy, which would outline how services would be commissioned as a single organisation, would be shared with stakeholders in due course.

RESOLVED that the proposed changes in the structure of the Clinical Commissioning Groups in Coventry and Warwickshire be supported.