Health boss admits cuts mean services will suffer

Tracey Bleakley warned that some local NHS services would be cut back

Budget cuts will mean some health services will "suffer", a departing NHS boss has admitted.

Tracey Bleakley stood down as chief executive of the Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board (ICB) on Thursday following the government's announcement that ICBs would receive 50% less funding.

She said the changes meant more money could be spent on frontline services, but conceded that some services would be cut back.

The government has also said the abolition of NHS England would cut bureaucracy.

Announcing the plan in March, Sir Keir Starmer said adopting NHS England within the Department of Health and Social Care would bring it under "democratic control".

When questioned on whether services "would suffer", Ms Bleakley said "yes".

"Undoubtedly some of the services we provide, we're not going to be able to provide," she told the BBC.

Health services are due to be reorganised in the region.

She said it was unclear how the new structure might look but said "we can assume that Norfolk and Suffolk, as a minimum, will come together".

The ICB said Ed Garratt, the current chief executive of NHS Suffolk and North East Essex ICB, would take over as interim boss, whilst also continuing in his current role.

ICBs are in charge of planning, commissioning and managing NHS services and budgets.

NHS England has been asked for comment.

The ICB is consulting on proposals which could see Norwich's walk-in centre closed

Ms Bleakley, who took charge of the ICB in 2022, also defended controversial proposals which would see Norwich's walk-in centre closed or have its opening times reduced, with out of hours services also scaled back.

The possible changes to the centre – which sees 72,000 patients a year – have been criticised.

Alex Stewart from Healthwatch Norfolk warned cutting it back could lead to more patients using hospital A&E departments instead, which he said "couldn't cope" and "would implode".

But Ms Bleakley said money saved from cutting back the walk-in centre would go to local GPs and that NHS data suggested patients using it would not turn to hospitals instead.

A consultation is being held on the proposals.