Bristol South MP Karin Smyth has been speaking out against the ill-advised recommissioning of adult community health services by Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (BNSSG CCG). The CCG this week revealed that it has appointed a single new provider – Sirona – which will take over the delivery of services in Bristol South from current provider Bristol Community Health in April 2020.
Karin says: “I’ve repeatedly spoken out against the costly process which, I believe, should not have taken place. The £1bn contract, which starts in April 2020, will bind us to this provider for the next decade – yet we still do not know which services were included in their bid and, perhaps more importantly, which were not. It’s an uncertain time for staff and patients alike.
For us in Bristol, this change in provider is a high-risk strategy by the CCG. Delivering quality community health services relies on a huge amount of local knowledge and relationships built up over years between staff and patients.
We are inviting Sirona to deliver a huge range of services across Bristol South and beyond. The social enterprise has a huge amount of work to do over the next six months before they’re in a position to be able to deliver services – from staffing to IT and engaging with patients to partnering with charities.
We need to know what impact this will have on the services we rely heavily on in Bristol South – including respiratory, cardiac and diabetes services, particularly considering the CCG itself has recognised the greater need in Bristol South.
The CCG says it wants to see consistent, joined-up healthcare delivered closer to home. I look forward to learning more about how services in Bristol South will improve as a result of this very costly and bureaucratic re-commissioning process, and I will continue to work with all concerned to make sure that happens.