GPs vote for the merger of Cheshire’s Clinical Commissioning Groups

The Governing Bodies of the Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) met in common on Thursday 26 September to consider the outcome of the GP membership vote on the proposal to create a single strategic commissioning organisation for Cheshire. It was agreed that an application to merge NHS West Cheshire, Vale Royal, South Cheshire, and Eastern Cheshire CCGs from April 2020 will now be made to NHS England with the outcome expected in October.

The voting process has been independently verified by the Local Medical Committee and the results are as follows by % share of votes made:

*For Eastern Cheshire denotes the number of yes votes required

Overall voting turnout was 95%, of which 86% of returned ballots were in favour of a single CCG for Cheshire.

Clare Watson, Chief Officer of the four Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Groups said:

“We are delighted that following the outcome of our Governing Body Committees in Common meeting we’re now in a position to submit our application to merge the four Cheshire CCGs to NHS England.”

Dr Chris Ritchieson, Chair of NHS West Cheshire CCG, who chaired the meeting added:

“Along with Dr Andrew Wilson, GP Chair of NHS Eastern Cheshire CCG and NHS South Cheshire CCG and Dr Jonathan Griffiths, GP Chair of NHS Vale Royal CCG we would like to extend our thanks to our partners and members of the public who have taken the time to share their thoughts and feedback on our merger proposals. We would also like to acknowledge the time and consideration that our four GP Memberships have dedicated in reaching this decision, which supports our ambition to create a single strategic commissioner for Cheshire, championing the needs of local people at a regional and national level.”