The creation of the NHS’ first integrated care trust has been delayed until 2020, due to the complexity of the contractual model.
Dudley Clinical Commissioning Group, which is set to create the NHS’ first integrated care provider, has had to push its plans back by a year.
The CCG, which previously planned to award its integrated care contract this year, said it will now not be able to award the contract until April 2020, despite almost completing the procurement phase.
Last year, the commissioner confirmed intentions to split its main acute trust, the Dudley Group Foundation Trust, in two, leaving a residual acute trust and creating a new multispecialty community provider. The latter would hold the integrated MCP contract, which would potentially include some form of contractual arrangement with GPs and some primary care commissioning functions.
Full story in The HSJ, 16 January 2019