After three years in the hands of private company Serco, Suffolk’s community healthcare is being returned to NHS control on 1 October this year.
Suffolk’s two biggest hospitals, West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust and Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust, and Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust have been confirmed as the preferred bidders to deliver NHS community health services in the county.
The East Anglian Daily Times, quoted the NHS Ipswich and East Suffolk and NHS West Suffolk clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), which awarded the contract, as saying that patients “will continue to receive the same safe, high-quality services” by the “same staff in the same locations”.
Serco announced earlier this year that it was withdrawing from the service after making losses of £13.7m on the contract in 2014. The company had been awarded the £140m, three-year contract in 2012.
Earlier this month, UNISON regional organiser Jeff Keighley said that the successful bidders will be unable to operate without making losses like those of Serco or making significant cuts to jobs and services.
