Walsall CCG is taken out of special measures

NHS England has taken the CCG out of special measures following improvement in its financial performance and governance.

In the CCGs' Annual Assessment for 2015/16, published last July, Walsall CCG was rated 'inadequate'. Serious concerns were raised over the group's finances as it battled to find savings of more than £20 million in just one year.

Since then, NHS England has been working closely with Walsall CCG to help manage its financial recovery and strengthen its governance.

Alison Tonge, director of commissioning operations for NHS England in the West Midlands, said: "It is essential that the people of Walsall have confidence that the CCG is able to commission safe, sustainable health services now and in the future.

"The announcement means we recognise all the work and progress that the CCG has made so far on governance and financial management in particular.

"We will continue to work with Walsall CCG over the coming months to ensure that all remaining actions are completed."

Walsall CCG hailed the news as 'excellent' and thanked staff.

Dr Anand Rischie, the chair of the CCG, said: "This is excellent news and it should give patients, the public and our partners reassurance that we are continually improving local health services.

"Thank you to the Governing Body, our staff, our partners and to NHS England for their continued support and guidance.

"We recognise that there is still much work to be done and we will continue to work closely with NHS England and local partners to make the necessary improvements."

Paul Maubach, the accountable officer for the CCG, added: "We are pleased that special measures have been lifted but we know that there is still much more work to be done to ensure that we continue to improve local health services for the people of Walsall.

"Our focus will remain on ensuring the provision of safe, high quality services for the population of Walsall whilst delivering good value for money and effective performance.

"There are still many challenges ahead for the CCG however we would like to assure people that as an organisation we are fully committed to commissioning the highest quality health services that provide good value for money for the people of Walsall."

NHS Walsall CCG is the body responsible for commissioning hospital, community and mental health services for people in the borough. It is made up of 59 GP practices.