NHS England has formally approved an application to bring together Cheshire’s four NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups.
Accountable Officer Clare Watson received confirmation on Tuesday 15th October that NHS Eastern Cheshire CCG, NHS South Cheshire CCG, NHS Vale Royal CCG and NHS West Cheshire CCG will become the first in Cheshire and Merseyside to merge on 1st April 2020.
The move will bring together the planning and buying of health services across the county and give Cheshire a stronger voice in championing the needs of local people at regional and national level.
Clare Watson commented: “We are delighted to receive approval from NHS England for our application to bring together the four Cheshire CCGs.
“I would like to thank everyone who has been involved in supporting our work to come together so far. This includes staff, GP members, partner organisations and the people of Cheshire.”
Clare continued: “Working together as Cheshire will enable us to strengthen our work as a single team to ensure the people of Cheshire are able to access consistently good care – wherever they live.
“It will also enable us to further support the development of integrated care partnerships in Cheshire East and Cheshire West which will provide more care closer to home.”
A public engagement exercise conducted across the county in May and June 2019 saw support for proposals to bring together the four CCGs.
Over 75% of the 376 respondents were in favour of the creation of a single Cheshire CCG.
A subsequent ballot of GP member practices in each of the four CCG areas drew even stronger support, with 86% of responses in favour of a merger.
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