Decisions made under Greater Manchester’s proposed devolved health and social care system could be overturned by the health secretary if they think the decisions are “wrong”, a minister has indicated, plus the rest of the day’s news and comment

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5.02pm The NHS provider sector is in straits similar to those of Greece at the moment but there is no Grexit for those that cannot cope, says HSJ editor Alastair McLellan in his latest leader column.

3.28pm A trust in special measures believes regulatory intervention has made it harder to improve patient care, the minutes of a high level ministerial meeting reveal.

Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals Trust was placed in special measures following a Care Quality Commission inspection in 2013.

At a meeting between government ministers and senior leaders from the NHS Trust Development Authority last month, the special measures regime was discussed.

In the minutes Richard Douglas, then director general for finance at the Department of Health, reported that the BHRUT board said “as a result of being placed in special measures a large number of other regulators became interested in them”. This had the “unintended consequence of making it harder to implement the necessary changes required to improve patient care”.

Mr Douglas, who retired at the end of May, asked if anything could be done to “limit this negative impact”.

2.30pm Decisions made under Greater Manchester’s proposed devolved health and social care system could be overturned by the health secretary if they think the decisions are “wrong”, a minister has indicated.

The comments were made during a Lords committee discussion on the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill on Wednesday.

In February, Greater Manchester’s 10 local authorities, along with the conurbation’s clinical commissioning groups and NHS England, agreed a deal with the government to gain control of the region’s health and social budgets from April 2016.

Asked about whether the bill would be used to transfer NHS powers to new authorities, or mayors, in Manchester or elsewhere, local government minister Baroness Williams pointed to early proposals already published in Manchester, and was unclear about the future potential for this.

2.25pm Monitor is to look at how the NHS can reduce the amount of money the NHS spends on agency staff, the regulator today announced.

Monitor figures show spending on temporary staff in the NHS rose by 29 per cent to £2.4bn in 2013-14.

A recent report to Monitor’s board suggested that foundation trusts spent over double their original plans for contract and agency staff (£1.8bn compared to £766m).

A team of experts has been established to run an initial three-month trial at three foundation trusts, providing support including action planning that will help FTs deliver savings, and a diagnostic tool that will identify weaknesses in how trusts are managing their staffing.

If the trial, which is expected to finish by the end of August, is successful then Monitor will consider the appointment of a team of experts on a permanent basis.

Monitor chief executive David Bennett said: “One of the biggest short term financial challenges the NHS faces is to reduce the use of agency and temporary staff.

“We are offering practical help to foundation trusts who are struggling to reduce their agency bills, building on the letter I recently sent chief executives asking them to limit their spend on temporary staff.”

12.29pm No devolution deal will be signed off unless local enterprise partnerships are ‘at the heart’ of proposals, communities secretary Greg Clark has warned.

In a speech to the LEPs Network this week, Mr Clark said the partnerships between councils and business had been “a phenomenal revolution” and that they had “completely changed the way investment and growth is done in this country”.

12.22pm A minister was unclear about whether the government could intervene in decisions made by devolved authorities for health and social and care in Greater Manchester.  

During a Lords committee debate this week on how the government’s Localism Bill will apply to the NHS, in particular in relation to the proposed devolution and integration of health and social care functions in Greater Manchester, the communities and local government minister, Baroness Williams, did not not state specifically that the bill could be used to transfer NHS powers and budgets to new combined authorities, but also appeared to indicate this could happen.

Questioned by Labour peers and former health ministers Lords Hunt and Warner, the minister also indicated the government could intervene in decisions made by devolved authorities or leaders.

“We cannot have a situation where there is unfettered ability for people to do things without any checks and balances,” she said.

11.31am The idea of systems of care is not new but only now is it starting to gain traction as growing pressures in the NHS have engulfed previously high performing providers, writes King’s Fund chief executive Chris Ham.

10.40am The chief executive of Circle has said that a lack of flexibility in its contract to run Hinchingbrooke Health Care Trust was a major factor behind its early departure from the franchise deal.

Steve Melton said the company’s 10 year contract was designed before the “ground shifted beneath our feet”, referring to Health and Social Care Act 2012’s commissioning reforms.

In January Circle withdrew from the UK’s only privately managed NHS district general hospital just before the release of a highly critical Care Quality Commission inspection report.

Mr Melton said the way the contract was designed assumed a “level playing field” for payments to NHS hospitals, instead of what he suggested was a system that rewarded “failing” providers.

10.17am Royal College of Surgeons head of press and public affairs Patrick Leahy has tweeted:

10.13am NHS Trust Development Authority officials refused to pay the bulk of a claim for unanticipated costs made by a trust that fell into financial trouble after taking over a failing neighbour, HSJ can reveal.

Emails released under the Freedom of Information Act show senior figures at the TDA worked to give King’s College Hospital Foundation Trust in south London no more than the £10m indemnity payment it was contractually entitled to. This is despite acknowledging it had likely incurred significantly higher costs during the takeover.

9.36am Integrated care records for 6,000 patients are now being shared between NHS and social care workers in Manchester.

The shared records are intended to help new multidisciplinary teams working across three clinical commissioning group areas, as they aim to keep patients out of hospital.

Ed Dyson, the project sponsor and assistant chief officer at Central Manchester CCG, said it could be possible for the records to be used across Greater Manchester, to feed into the devolution project.

7am Good morning and welcome to HSJ Live. HSJ correspondent Ben Clover has obtained emails showing senior figures at the TDA worked to give King’s College Hospital Foundation Trust in south London no more than the £10m indemnity payment it was contractually entitled to.