Monitor capacity holds up community service transfers

Under the Transforming Community Services programme, primary care trusts were given until 1 April to find new homes for the provider organisations. Monitor was tasked with conducting risk rating assessments for 45 transfers involving a foundation trust.

But 15 out of 31 transfers classed as “significant” will miss the deadline.

Richard Guest, Monitor’s mergers and acquisitions and restructuring director, told HSJ all PCTs submitted plans to the regulator by January. But around “eight or nine” of the plans lacked necessary detail, delaying the process. He added: “If they’d all come to us ready, we still would have had to push eight or nine of them back.”

He attributed much of the problem to the capacity of the regulator’s assessment team.

Monitor’s quarterly report, published on Monday, said the regulator had doubled its assessment capacity but would still “face constraints in the number of transactions [it] can review”.

Four risk ratings of community providers have been completed, with another nine planned to be finished in March. Fifteen are scheduled for April, May and June, while another three have not yet been formally referred on to Monitor.

Mr Guest added he struggled to see what “material effect” the delay would have.

However, Foundation Trust Network director Sue Slipman said: “The delays will mean uncertainty for staff transferring and trusts themselves may incur costs. We hope Monitor will resolve the situation as quickly as possible.”

Some PCTs are separating community services internally for 1 April, but retaining staff and responsibility for services until Monitor signs off the transfer.

Dorset Healthcare University Foundation Trust has been told it will have to wait as late as July to take on community services from NHS Poole and Bournemouth and NHS Dorset.

In the North West, transfers to the Royal Bolton Hospital, Blackpool Fylde and Wyre and Lancashire Care foundation trusts are delayed. PCTs affected in the South East include West Essex, South East Essex, South West Essex, and Bedfordshire.

A Department of Health spokeswoman said most transactions were expected to be completed by the end of July and all PCTs to have separated functions internally by April.