Health chiefs in Bath and North East Somerset face making further significant spending cuts in 2018/19. The local Clinical Commissioning Group, which buys health services in the area, took difficult decisions recently, including restricting access to fertility treatments for some patients to save £11.6 million and balance the books. But this year, the organisation faces another funding gap of £6.2 million.

Reflecting on 2017/18, Dr Ian Orpen, the Clinical Chair of the CCG, said: “We looked at the scale of the challenge and didn’t think there was going to be any realistic prospect of meeting it. It’s important to recognise what we have achieved.”

He thanked staff for maintaining the quality of care they provided, but said the challenge was not getting any easier.

“You could make savings and not pay much attention to quality of services. That’s absolutely not what’s been behind this. We have maintained quality,” he said.

“The challenge ahead is that, although the savings target appears smaller, because the cupboard is as bare as it is and the sofa has been turned upside down, the scale of the challenge facing us shouldn’t be underestimated.

“It will be a significant achievement to break even this year.”

Dr Orpen told Bath and North East Somerset Councillors last month that restricting access to fertility treatments for some couples had been the “most difficult decision” the CCG had ever had to make.

It is limiting IVF to women aged between 23 and 37 years of age, down from 40, and with a BMI between 19 and 30.

Despite the funding challenges, Dr Bruce Laurence, the Council’s Director of Public Health, said he was pleased the CCG could continue to support vulnerable people with the expansion of the homeless healthcare service.

Chief Officer, Tracey Cox, said 2017/18 felt like an extraordinary year, adding: “Wherever you are in the health service, we are all under pressure. We are coming up to the 70th anniversary of the NHS. I think that’s reflected in our annual report.

“This can be a dry document, but I think it reflects an extraordinary story about developments that have been going on in the background to improve health for people in Bath and North East Somerset.

“We want to thank all the staff. It’s been a tough and challenging year. It’s not getting any easier.”

Chief Finance Officer, Sarah James, added: “It was pleasing to achieve value for money in the audit, given the challenges we faced over the year. Staff continued to do things properly under extremely challenging pressure.”

She said the CCG had been set to break even last year, but actually ended with a surplus of £1.47 million after some cash held in reserve was released.

Dr Elizabeth Hersch, who is the clinical lead for urgent and end-of-life care on the board, welcomed the report, saying: “We are not complacent. There is still transformation that needs to be delivered and there’s still a big job to do.”

CCG members met behind closed doors last Thursday to discuss options for saving the required £6.2 million this year.

Stephen Sumner