GP practices across Coventry and Warwickshire have given the green light for healthcare bosses to join forces.
Coventry and Rugby, South Warwickshire and Warwickshire North Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) – which commission healthcare for the population – will apply to NHS England to operate under one partnership after GP members gave plans the go ahead.
Governors say merging would improve the health and wellbeing of the population, reduce duplication and delays and lead to quicker decision making.
They also believe one organisation would help deliver the NHS’ Long Term Plan – which aims to shape the future of healthcare over the next decade.
It comes after NHS England told the CCG its £20million running costs must be cut by 20 per cent by 2021 – a total of £4million – which the groups say will happen through sharing of teams and pooling of resources, not from money used to provide services.
A spokesperson for the CCGs said: “The member practices of the three CCGs in Coventry and Warwickshire have told us decisively that they would like us to start the process of becoming a single merged organisation. We believe that this is the best outcome for our population, our practices and our health system, allowing us to most effectively work together to deliver the goals of the NHS Long Term Plan and improve health care for all the residents.
“We are grateful to all our GP member practices and stakeholders who have taken the time to be involved in this process and given us their support and feedback.”
The change will happen in April 2021 if NHS England approves the application for the CCGs to merge.
