AN innovative way of delivering health care is coming to Bolton.

Health bosses are setting out plans to reform the way care is delivered to homes, GP practices and the Royal Bolton Hospital.

NHS Bolton Clinical Commissioning Group is leading the changes through a Five Year Plan for Reform, known as the Locality Plan.

The plan forecasts a financial gap of £162 million for health and care in Bolton by 2020, and sets out a vision of how to tackle the funding gap.

This includes moving services out of hospitals into homes, lifting demand on GPs and encouraging people to take care of their health.

While the reinvention may seem like a daunting proposal, without the cash or staff to meet the raising demand on the health service, the changes are vital, CCG chairman Dr Wirin Bhatiani explained.

He said: “It is becoming increasingly clear that if the situation continues the way it is, the NHS will be at risk.

“There is a significant raising demand on the system coupled with workforce issues and very tight financial constraints.

“We need to have a really open and honest conversation with our public about what our local NHS can offer within the finances which we have. This is an ever-evolving plan, it is not set in stone, and hopefully over the next few years we can improve on it and deliver something people will want.”

Funding for the plan relies on the granting of £49.8m from the Greater Manchester transformation fund.

If approved in January, changes will include anything from reducing the amount of over-the-counter available medicines prescribed through the NHS — like paracetamol — to bringing more specialist into the community and focusing on providing home-based services for the elderly and people suffering from mental health problems.

There are also steps to help save money by spending less on hospital-based care, which includes reducing the number of beds.

However, Dr Bhatiani argues that it is not a case of taking health services away, but changing the way people think about receiving care.

One of the biggest changes includes providing more care for the elderly in their homes, hopefully reducing ill health and the number of hospital admissions.

Dr Bhatiani adds: “The intention is not to cut hospital services, but support people at risk of hospital admission more intensively at home. We want more preventative care out there with specialists accessible in neighbourhoods with beds there for those who need them.

“It doesn’t matter where the care comes from, it’s the quality of care that matters.”

The £49.8m funding will also go towards creating positions for specialists, such as physiotherapists, in the community and relieving demand off GPs by transferring some services to offer professionals like pharmacists.

The CCG is rolling out a programme of different sessions with community groups to get initial feedback on the plans.

Following news of the funding in January, a further programme of engagement with the public will take place.

The plan has been developed with the support of the NHS Foundation Trust, Bolton Council, Health Watch, Bolton Federation and Bolton CVS.