Voluntary redundancies are taking place at an Isle of Wight health organisation as it has to make major cutbacks.
It has led to questions over the impact that may have on Island services and the reassurance it would not affect performance.
As stipulated by NHS England, the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (ICB) has to make ‘financial efficiencies’ — equating to a 30 per cent reduction in running costs by March 2026.
ICBs are responsible for NHS resources and performance, commissioning needed services.
£8.7m of ‘efficiency savings’ (cuts)
On the Island, by the end of March 2024, the ICB has to make £8.7m of ‘efficiency savings’.
Key risks of achieving these savings are said to be the need for reduction in the amount spent on hospital discharges and continuing healthcare and prescribing expenditure above planned levels.
ICB: Reviewing and redesigning its organisational structures
To help make the cuts, the ICB is ‘reviewing and redesigning its organisational structures’, a spokesperson said, so it can deliver its responsibilities in the most efficient and effective way possible.
In the coming weeks, the spokesperson said, around 60 people will be leaving the ICB, having chosen to opt for its ‘mutually agreed resignation scheme’.
The issue was discussed at a recent health scrutiny committee of the Isle of Wight Council, where Councillor John Nicholson asked the body to be kept informed of progress and given continuous assurance the quality and delivery of services would not be adversely affected.
Taplin: Continue to meet statutory and legal responsibilities and obligations
Natasha Taplin, the ICB’s acting place director, assured him they would and explained they would continue to meet the statutory and legal responsibilities and obligations, even with a smaller workforce.
She said,
“The ICB is going through a difficult financial period … this will inevitably mean a shrinking of our work size but that does not mean a shrinkage of performance or our ability to commission the services we need for healthcare.
“We are reshaping the work we carry out as an organisation so some things we have been doing, we will no longer be doing as they are not part of our statutory responsibility.”
Ms Taplin said there are opportunities across the organisation that will allow them to collaborate, ‘doing things once instead of four times’, which would create efficiencies.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may have been made by OnTheWight. Ed
Image: Markus Winkler under CC BY 2.0
