Healthwatch Barking and Dagenham’s response to: Barking & Dagenham Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Consultation – Proposals for Spending NHS money wisely 2

Barking Havering and Redbridge Clinical Commissioning Group (BHR CCGs) are legally required to balance their budget. To achieve financial balance, they need to deliver £55 million savings from the budget in the 2017/18 financial year. This is just over 5% of our total annual joint budget of just over £1 billion for the three boroughs.  

In order to achieve this, BHR CCGs need to make some difficult decisions on what they will be able to provide under the NHS. 

The CCGs have already decided to no longer fund, or to restrict a range of procedures and treatments, following a consultation earlier this year. Further savings need to be made and a consultation was launched to seek the views of residents and organisations across Barking Havering and Redbridge. 

Healthwatch Barking and Dagenham carried out an engagement session with local people who live or work in Barking and Dagenham. We asked for people’s views and opinions concerning proposals put forward by BHR CCGs on no longer prescribing certain medications and procedures and changing the criteria of others. 

The consultation period set by the BHR CCGs for their proposal ended on Wednesday 15th November 2017. 

This document represents a response to the consultation which has been anonymised. This has been conducted impartially - Healthwatch Barking and Dagenham have no organisational view.