DOCTORS are to get more than £4million extra to spend on healthcare next year.
The additional cash from NHS England means Redditch and Bromsgrove Clinical Commissioning Group will receive a real terms budget increase in 2015/16 of 2.4 per cent. It takes the group’s total budget to over £187million.
The money is from an additional £1.98billion announced by national health bosses to help meet growing demand and support the transformation of services in line with the NHS Five Year Forward View.
NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens said: “With a growing population and an ageing population it’s clear the health service can’t just keep running to catch up. Instead we need to begin to radically reshape the way we care for patients, which is why there is such widespread support and enthusiasm for the NHS Five Year Forward View.”
Health bosses locally have given the extra funding a cautious welcome.
Paul Sheldon, chief finance officer for Redditch and Bromsgrove CCG, said: “We are assessing the new information we’ve received around CCG funding and we’re looking at how it compares to previous funding we’ve received. At first glance as part of the new allocations, the CCG is required to adhere to a set of national requirements.”
The cash injection comes at a time when soaring demand is threatening to destabilise the CCG’s finances. Currently the organisation is forecasting its contract with Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust will overspend by more than £2.7million, primarily due to the numbers pouring into A&E. The agreement with University Hospitals Birmingham is also due to overspend by £527,000 and a rise in 999 calls will see their agreement with West Midlands Ambulance Service cost £368,000 more than expected.
The CCG’s drugs budget is also expected to be blown by £535,000 and mental health placements are set to cost £267,000 more than planned for.
Although the CCG is on course to deliver a £1.87million surplus at the end of March, it is reliant on the use of more than £3.4million of contingency funding. Finance chiefs have warned if demand continues at its current rate there is no more spare cash to support the books and a real risk the CCG could end up with a deficit of £1million.
An update on the situation and the new funding is expected at the CCG’s governing body meeting later this month.
