Jobs to go when Shropshire's primary care trusts are axed

SHROPSHIRE'S TWO primary care trusts and the West Midlands Strategic Health Authority are to be scrapped, with the loss of hundreds of administrative posts, in the biggest shake-up of the NHS in 60 years.

All 152 PCTS and 10 strategic authorities are to be "phased out", Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has announced.

This includes Shropshire County PCT and NHS Telford and Wrekin.

The trusts were set up in 2002 in the last major reorganisation of the health service.

Between them, they employ more than 2,300 staff and provide a range of community services such as district nursing, health visiting, physiotherapy and occupational therapy.

Shropshire County PCT is also responsible for the community hospitals at Whitchurch, Bridgnorth, Ludlow and Bishop's Castle.

Both trusts are currently looking to "privatise" services by transferring them to a social enterprise.

Implications

Last year, NHS Telford and Wrekin moved into new state-of-the-art headquarters at Halesfield.

The jobs of the vast majority of staff within the trusts are expected to be safe in the shake-up as they are directly involved in providing patient care.

Matthew James, spokesman for Shropshire County PCT, said today: "The new Coalition Government has highlighted its plans for the NHS moving forward.

"The White Paper has a significant amount of detail which needs careful consideration and the PCT will need to understand this detail and discuss the implications with its staff before making any further comment."

Under the Government's proposals, management costs are to be slashed by 45 per cent and up to £20 billion of efficiency savings by 2014.

Reforms also include cutting red tape and handing GPs control of their own budgets.

Primary care trusts will be stripped of their responsibilities to decide what sort of care patients will receive.

Instead, groups of GPs will take over the task, which carries an annual budget of £80 billion.

An independent NHS Commissioning Board will oversee the new regime, with local councils taking over responsibility for public health.

By Dave Morris and Sunita Patel