Who will be the accountable officer for the seven east London CCGs?
Seven clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in the north-east and east of London have announced they are to share a single accountable officer, Jane Milligan.
The CCGs are all members of an East London Health and Care Partnership, a sustainability and transformation partnership (STP) led by Ms Milligan. They include Waltham Forest, Newham, Tower Hamlets, City and Hackney, Barking and Dagenham, Havering, and Redbridge.
The move follows news last week of 18 CCGs moving to merge and a further significant number sharing leadership.
HSJ editors have reported on the background to this development in recent weeks.
In June, the journal revealed that Hackney council’s health scrutiny board had written to the CCGs expressing concerns that a single accountable officer would weaken local accountability. It later also reported that NHS England had threatened City and Hackney CCG with legal directions if it did not support the plan.
Of London’s five STP areas, south-east London is now said to be the only one where CCGs do not share a single accountable officer.