VOTE: North Lincolnshire Council to welcome GPs on to new health boards

​NORTH Lincolnshire Council will welcome GPs on to newly-formed health boards as the region prepares for the closure of NHS North Lincolnshire.

Government plans that were announced earlier this month will see GPs take control of the majority of the region’s £230-million health budget, under national proposals to transform the NHS.

A White Paper consultation document published last week revealed GPs will be required to sit on new local council ‘health and wellbeing’ boards, with local authorities also being given the power to challenge GP consortia commissioning strategies.

Stuart Wilson, lead member for health at North Lincolnshire Council, said: “There is no doubt this will see the council play a much greater role in the delivery of healthcare in the region.

“The Government White Paper states that local authorities will have to set up health and wellbeing boards, but we already have this in place in partnership with the PCT, so I don’t think it will dramatically change the way we work.

“However, it will give us the power to work alongside GPs in the commissioning of patient care, and we hope to maintain a pro-active approach with our new partners.”

Councillor Wilson believes changes were needed and remains cautiously optimistic that proposals laid out by health secretary Andrew Lansley will bring positive results.

He said: “These plans are at a very early stage so I believe it’s a case of wait and see, but it was encouraging to see public health budgets will be ringfenced. As a local authority we must evolve with these changes and help GP consortia wherever possible. GPs work very hard already and we must allow them to continue focusing on frontline patient care.

“I would expect to see some of the management currently involved with NHS North Lincolnshire to be employed by the GP consortia to ease that burden. You simply cannot run the NHS without management, and these people are still needed within the health service.”

GP consortia will work in partnership with local authorities to jointly plan and commission health and adult social care, public health and integrated care, with local authorities acting as the lead commissioner for certain services, such as older people’s care. And local authorities will be given the power to block GP commissioning strategies if they do not agree with a consortium’s plans, and refer disagreements to the Independent Reconfiguration Panel.

A Department of Health spokesman said: “There would be a statutory obligation for the local authority and commissioners to participate as members of the board and act in partnership on these functions.

“The health and wellbeing board would give local authorities influence over NHS commissioning, and corresponding influence for NHS commissioners in relation to health improvement, reducing health inequalities and social care.”