A decision described as the “clearest sign yet” that NHS services on Merseyside could be privatised has been sensationally called in.
The choice of Wirral Council and the borough’s Clinical Commissioning Group to pool their resources together as part of an integrated commissioning hub (ICH) will now be reconsidered.
It comes after Labour councillors, whose group run the local authority, demanded the decision is scrutinised further.
Approved by a joint council-NHS committee last month, it was claimed the decision to create an ICH could mean “opening the door” to what’s known as an accountable care organisation (ACO).
A subject of controversy after being introduced by the government this year, ACOs bring together most of a local area’s NHS services under a single budget, which is then run directly by one organisation – in this case the Wirral Health and Care Commissioning (WHaCC).
But they can also mean private companies entering the market, and so have been likened to American “care models”, which only provide limited health care for people who can’t afford private insurance.
Last week, it was revealed Labour councillors Tony Norbury, Kate Cannon, Jo Bird, Joe Walsh, Christina Muspratt and Tony Smith all want the decision called in to both the adult care and health overview and children and families overview and scrutiny committees.
These are the seven reasons why the members said they called it in:
- The contract was signed with “very limited” opportunity for them to consider the scope and extent.
- There has not been “sufficient opportunity” to explore the scope and specification of the contract, and to perform the scrutiny.
- Councillors must be satisfied the public consultations have been “adequate” and that there is the “correct balance” in the partnership between the council and CCG.
- The report commissioned to assess risks and mitigation over the decision “was not scrutinised by Adult and Social Care Scrutiny and was out of date when eventually made available to members”.
- Councillors must also be able to scrutinise the explanations as to why pooling funds is in Wirral residents’ “best interests”.
- Councillors must be able to scrutinise arrangements for meeting legal social care requirements.
- Councillors must also be able to scrutinise what impact the decision will have on the council’s accountability.
A commissioned report investigating financial risks of the ICH, and carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers last year, said the creation of an ACO would be one way of measuring the scheme’s success.
According to Green Party Cllr Pat Cleary, as well as other campaign groups, it’s “widely recognised” the ICH could mean a “clear route to privatisation within the NHS”, and they urged Wirral council and the CCG not to approve the plans.
Despite the concerns, Wirral council is adamant the move to create the WHaCC will not lead to privatisation. At a full council meeting on Monday, leader Cllr Phil Davies said the agreement was about reducing hospital admissions and ensuring the CCG’s budget was properly scrutinised.
The call-in comes after plans to pool budgets were approved at last month’s meeting of the joint strategic commissioning board – where politicians and CCG officials categorically denied plans to create an ACO.
This article originally appeared on WirralGlobe
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