NHS support groups in £80m merger
TWO public bodies which deliver back office support to the NHS across a large part of the North West are to merge, creating a group with revenues of £80m.
The Commissioning Support Units (CSUs) of Greater Manchester and Cheshire & Merseyside are coming together with the aim of benefiting from economies of scale and offering a wider range of services.
CSUs support the work of Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) which have replaced Primary Care Trusts to deliver NHS services.
Each CSU supports 12 commissioning groups, helping them to deliver clinical services and also providing back office support such as finance, communications and human resources.
The merged organisation will have 1,000 staff covering a population of 5.1 million, 900 GP proactices and 19 local authorities. The CSUs currently have main bases in Salford, Warrington, Chester, Liverpool and Nantwich. No job cuts are planned.
Leigh Griffin, managing director of Greater Manchester CSU, said: “This is an ambitious move which will secure our place as a significant player in the North West health and social care economy and a give us a formidable national presence.
“There is great opportunity now to bring together our expertise, experience and learning so we can help support our clients to transform the health and social care sector to meet the challenges it faces.”
Cheshire & Merseyside managing director Tim Andrews said: “Our clients are at the forefront of some of the most challenging issues the NHS and social care have ever had to face. The exciting and innovative changes they’re pioneering in the way services are delivered will improve the quality and effectiveness of care, as well as ensuring much better coordination and collaboration across different organisations.
“The merger of our two organisations means we can help answer this challenge much more effectively by drawing on the considerable combined talents of the teams across the region.”
