Cheshire CCGs to merge

NHS England / Improvement has formally approved an application to bring together Cheshire's four NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups in April next year.

Accountable Officer Clare Watson received confirmation on Tuesday 15 October that NHS Eastern Cheshire, NHS South Cheshire, NHS Vale Royal and NHS West Cheshire will become the first CCGs in Cheshire and Merseyside to merge on 1 April 2020.

Already supported by Cheshire residents and GPs, the move will bring together the planning and buying of health services across the county and give Cheshire a more powerful voice in championing the needs of local people at regional and national level.

Clare Watson said: "We are delighted to receive approval from NHS England / Improvement 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.
"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 Cheshire in May and June 2019 drew widespread support for proposals to bring together the four CCGs, with 76.5 per cent of the 376 respondents 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 per cent of responses across Cheshire in favour of a merger.

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