Accountable officer for inadequate CCG named

Simon Freeman, who was appointed as interim accountable officer at Shropshire CCG in October following the departure of David Evans, has been named as the CCG’s permanent accountable officer, according to tweets by Dr Freeman and the CCG’s chair.

Mr Evans is the chief officer of neighbouring Telford and Wrekin CCG.

The appointment was confirmed on Twitter by Dr Freeman and Shropshire CCG’s chair Julian Povey, who said:

Very happy that @AOShropshireCCG has accepted the substantive AO job @ShropsCCG we can now work to build a strong stable team

— Julian Povey (@GP_SCCG) 13 February 2017

Shropshire CCG said it was not able to comment as the appointment had not yet been formerly approved by NHS England.

The CCG has been in special measures since December 2015 and under NHS England legal directions since April 2016. It was rated inadequate last July.

Dr Freeman’s appointment follows reports of a deadlock between Shropshire CCG and Telford and Wrekin CCG over the reconfiguration of acute services in the region.

In December, during a joint committee meeting to approve recommendations made by the Future Fit programme board about the reconfiguration of Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust, six Shropshire CCG representatives voted for the plan recommended by the programme, while six representatives from Telford and Wrekin CCG voted against.

At an adjournment debate last month, health and care minister David Mowat said a review of the Future Fit programme and its appraisal process was due to start soon, and an independent chair – who will have a casting vote – will be appointed.

Under legal directions placed on Shropshire in April 2016, the CCG was required to appoint an accountable officer and produce a “financial recovery plan”.