HEALTHCARE bosses say stopping a tendering process which could have seen community services privatised was the right decision.
South Warwickshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) had planned to put its £227 million contract – which is currently run by South Warwickshire Foundation Trust (SWFT) – out to tender.
It could have meant services including end of life care, district nurses and hospice care could have been taken over by a private company.
But in a dramatic turnaround the CCG – which had said it wanted to improve services, efficiency and value for money – announced it was no longer going ahead with the tendering process, which could have cost up to £300,000.
CCG bosses have instead chosen to team up with Rugby and North Warwickshire CCGs to create a ‘Sustainability and Transformation’ plan – meaning the three groups will now work with providers, including SWFT, on the contract.
A spokesman from South Warwickshire CCG told the Observer: “By extending the Out of Hospital programme to include the whole of Coventry and Warwickshire, we recognise by working together for the benefit of patients, we can act at speed and at scale and so, have a far greater impact on services that can vastly improve the quality of life for people in Warwickshire.
“We have listened to local people and providers and recognised that we can deliver improved outcomes for patients by aligning the programme with our county-wide Sustainability and Transformation Plan. This brings together health and social care commissioners and providers and it is right that, for now, we should work together to develop existing services rather than look for new providers.
“Joining forces this way shows the CCGs are demonstrating their commitment to working with a range to providers to develop a plan which will strengthen and refresh health and social care in Coventry and Warwickshire over the next five years.”
* OUR front page story last week – U-turn lifts worries over services – incorrectly referred to campaign group South Warwickshire Keep Our NHS Public as South Warwickshire Keep Our NHS Private – something they certainly do not want. We apologise for error and any embarrassment which may have been caused.
