Plans underway to create one group to commission all of Northamptonshire's healthcare services

A new, single countywide clinical commissioning group (CCG) could be set up for Northamptonshire in five years time.

The move would require 'de-establishing' Nene CCG and Corby CCG and creating a new group for the whole county funded by a single pot.

The proposal was put to a trust board meeting at Northampton General Hospital last month by the chief executive of both CCGs, Toby Sanders.

Mr Sanders reportedly told the board: "If something doesn't change the population of Northamptonshire would be impacted."

A report from the board meeting on September 25 reads: "Mr Sanders reported that he had attended the Primary Care Network meeting. The attendees had shown an equal measure of both excitement and terror.

"The CCG had made clear that moving forward it was less about individual surgeries but more about groups of surgeries."

Clinical commissioning groups are clinically-led statutory bodies that plan and commission most of the hospital and community NHS services in their area. Collectively the two Northamptonshire CCGs have a combined budget of £983m per year.

He also called the plan a "real opportunity" to change how commissioning is run in the country.

Corby CCG is the smallest of its kind in the country and exclusively commissions services for the Corby area.

It come after the borough and district councils of Northamptonshire last year voted to dissolve themselves and form a unitary council for the county.

Mr Sanders is set to present his bid to NHS England next week.