A CCG has cut more than £1m in practice funding after decommissioning an enhanced service designed to improve care for vulnerable patients, without consulting the LMC.
Walsall LMC said that practices had employed staff as a result of the enhanced service run by NHS Walsall CCG, which involved elderly patients receiving extra health checks, care plans and medication reviews and had 100% sign up from local practices.
But the CCG has pulled the £1.13m funding – which was worth £55,000 for one practice – leaving practices having to make staff redundant.
The CCG said that this was because the scheme was ‘not able to demonstrate value for money’.
However, the LMC said that it was primarily decommissioned because the CCG has a £20m budget gap.
The enhanced service was initially funded via the £5 per patient that CCGs were supposed to redirect from hospital budgets to support GP practices in reducing avoidable hospital admissions, as part of the Avoiding Unplanned Admissions DES.
Full story at Pulse 1 June 2016