Health & NHS 
Over 80 CCG mergers likely by April 2020
Nearly half of clinical commissioning groups in England are proposing to merge next year in what would be the biggest cull of NHS organisations for more than a decade, according to the Health Services Journal.
Eighty-six CCGs have confirmed or are consulting over consolidations by April 2020, reports HSJ. Four areas – Bradford, North Yorkshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, and Shropshire – have so far formally agreed to apply to merge.
A further 17 areas are planning to make applications if local talks are successful – among them Kent and Medway, Durham and Teesside, Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, and Herefordshire and Worcestershire. London is likely to see the biggest change, if a total of 25 CCGs in the capital become four in April, as is currently proposed.
There is a September deadline for 2020 merger proposals. Any changes have to be approved by NHSE, which is encouraging mergers to help cost-savings and the development of system working.
The proposed mergers can be viewed on an online map.
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