CUTS to NHS funding mean health bosses are ‘focusing their minds to improve things’.

Financial and workforce challenges in the NHS have presented Bolton CCG with issues when balancing their books in recent years and have been a catalyst for change.

Many of these changes are about bringing healthcare into the community (part of the Locality Plan) and making sure those that are in hospital need to be there.

Once "robust" packages for care in the community are in place the leader of Bolton’s Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said there could be a "potential" for a reduction in bed numbers at the hospital.

Dr Wirin Bhatiani , chairman of Bolton CCG said plans like the Healthier Together programme and the Locality Plan are about making the most of existing resources while improving efficiencies.

Dr Bhatiani said: “When you’re faced with challenges like a shortage of workforce and shortage of financial resource they act as catalysts to enable change for the better.

“The challenges are focusing our minds to improve things.”

Figures presented to the CCG board last month show efforts to move care out of hospitals had not yet resulted in any savings.

Dr Bhatiani, said: "If you were really effective at caring for people in the community and putting the support for people in the community along with preventing illness and looking after long term conditions and working in a joined up way, you would reduce the demand on the hospital.

“Then the hospital would be able to reduce their costs, but currently, because we’re still evolving we’re not there yet.

“So far we can’t say we have done enough to reduce the demand.

“It’s about reducing demand on A&E and we’re not there yet. We’re still trying to do it better and the things that are difficult.

“Everyone’s struggling so we haven’t been able to meaningfully reduce the costs.”

He added: “No hospital bed is going to be closed until we have robust community and social packages available for it. There may be potential for that but I won’t put a number on it.”

In efforts to save money and balance the books, Dr Bhatiani highlighted the CCG’s £3 million savings around prescriptions.

He stressed it was not a reduction in service but about eliminating waste, for example where people order medicines they do not use.

The Locality Plan is being funded by a £28.8 million grant from the Greater Manchester Transformation Fund.