NHS bosses plan merger amid bid to halve running costs
The BOB ICB was formed in July 2022, replacing three clinical commissioning groups in the area.The organisation decides how to spend the NHS budget in the area it covers.The planned restructure would see a new body formed to include East Berkshire, which is currently covered by the Frimley Integrated Care Board.Dan Leveson from BOB ICB outlined the plans at a health scrutiny committee in Oxfordshire.
'Difficult for us'
He said: "In the South East we have currently six integrated care boards."You can imagine with a reduction of 50%, we're not going to have six in the future. "None of this is confirmed and this is a fairly rapidly moving picture."The BOB ICB will combine with East Berkshire to create a new integrated care board, this is the proposal that's in at the moment."We're merging and creating a new organisation and reducing our costs across that organisation, so there is going to be a restructure there is going to be a new operating model and there is going to be competitive processes for jobs."He said that the 50% reduction is on top of a 30% cut that the care board had implemented in the last year - and said it would mean job losses."We are going to lose people and that is going to be difficult for us," he added.Any new structure would be have to be agreed by the Health Secretary.The Department of Health and Social Care has been approached for a comment.
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