Cllr John Mingay is hopeful that the body responsible for organising health services in Bedfordshire is at last starting to get to grips with its huge spending deficit.
The Bedfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (BCCG) suddenly realised half way through the 2014/15 financial year that it had a gaping hole in its finances which got deeper and deeper. Its Governing Body recently revealed that its audited figures showed a staggering £45m spending deficit.
Cllr Mingay said:
‘It is a dire situation but positives are starting to emerge. The individuals who oversaw the disaster have left and been replaced by a new team which seems to understand the sheer scale of the challenge ahead.
‘It is obvious that savings will need to be made to bridge the spending gap to £20m this year although the full details remain to be seen. We have received assurances that services will not be affected although councillors will examine the plans as and when they emerge.’