By Jamie Waller, Local Democracy Reporter
Planned NHS spending cuts could leave Nottingham City Council with a new bill totalling millions of pounds, the authority has said.
Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), which organises healthcare for the county, is proposing reducing spending to a range of services to divert the money to other areas it says are in higher demand.
The raft of proposals for the city and county include cuts and changes to care packages and alterations to contracts with hospitals and private providers.
However internal city council figures suggest it will in turn have to increase spending by millions on areas which are jointly funded with the NHS, which may include social care for people who have recently left hospital.
The ICB says it is unaware of any knock-on cost to the council. The proposed spending cuts would save it approximately £55m across Nottinghamshire spread over the current financial year and 2025/26.
Suggestions include finding ways to cut waste, work more efficiently and removing care which is no longer needed.
ICB healthcare leaders were challenged over the impact at a meeting of Nottingham City Council’s Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee on Thursday (July 11).
Chair Councillor Georgia Power (Lab) said after the meeting: “I don’t think the council can afford to pay several more millions and nor should it, as costs are shared with the NHS.
“I completely get the financial pressures on the NHS after 14 years of Tory government, but it’s the same for the council. We both have a responsibility to ensure that residents get the support they need.
“I’m not reassured by what I’ve heard. I think it’s something we need to revisit.
“I will be asking the ICB to meet with council colleagues who have that information to try and come to a shared agreement.”
The exact expected cost to the authority hasn’t been made public.
Nottingham City Council is already in a precarious financial position, having effectively declared bankruptcy last year.
During the meeting, Cllr Power repeatedly asked the ICB’s director of integration Lucy Dadge for assurance that the council wouldn’t be landed with extra costs.
The director responded that their own estimates hadn’t shown an additional cost to the council, and they would look into the matter urgently.
“Patients that need [social care] when they leave hospital will continue to receive that care. There is no intention in way changing commissioning to direct extra costs to the council,” she said.
Alex Ball, director of communication, added: “We are not intending to remove funding for identified health needs, we are aiming to provide it in the most effective way.”
Councillors were told that no decisions would be made before the full impact of cuts on the council were identified.
Any proposed changes would go through a public consultation process before they are implemented.
