A LINK-UP between Wharfedale family doctors within different local health trust areas has been abandoned.

GP practices in the Ilkley area were recently involved in negotiations with practices in Otley over the formation of local Practice Based Commissioning collectives.

Under Government changes to the National Health Service funding structure, GP practices are preparing to form groups with other practices in their area.

They will be allocated their own funding and have the ability to commission a variety of health services, including services from hospitals and potentially from private providers.

As Wharfedale and Aireborough GP practices prepared to take on some of the roles and responsibilities currently provided by Primary Care Trusts (PCTs), talks about forming a cross-boundary collective were initiated between some Wharfedale practices.

GP practices in Wharfedale are currently split between Leeds North West PCT and the joint Airedale and North Bradford PCT.

When the forerunner of the PCTs, the Primary Care Groups, were formed in the 1990s, there were also talks about Wharfedale doctors forming their own organisation.

But a report to Airedale PCT now says negotiations with Otley GPs about Practice Based Commission-ing arrangements have failed to come to fruition.

The report by Airedale's Professional Executive Committee (PEC) chairman, Dr Georgina Haslam, said the Otley GPs had now opted to join with North Leeds and form a large locality area for commissioning primary healthcare services, leaving Ilkley area GP practices debating what to do next.

In her report, she said: "The practices are therefore currently undecided as to whether to form a small locality or join with others."

While North Bradford GP practices have been discussing forming a much larger Commissioning Alliance, along with three Bingley practices, Bingley and Wharfedale practices within the Bradford District are yet to resolve how they will tackle Practice Based Commissioning.

Dr Haslam says all practices currently within the Airedale PCT area have now received some practice budgetary data for the new arrangements, based on the spending in the current financial year. But more work needs to be done with practices before agreeing with them on setting Practice Based Commissioning budgets for the coming year.

Acting joint chief executive of Airedale and North Bradford PCTs, Lesley Hill, says in her latest report to the PCT board that work is 'well under way' on determining the levels of activity to be managed by the GP collectives but as the trusts are waiting for a revised Payment by Results (PbR) tariff set nationally the trusts are not yet in a position to provide a budget for the coming year.

"Practice understand this issue and are happy to work initially with uncosted activity as long as this is monitored in a timely way each month," Mrs Hill said in her report.

The PCT Board met yesterday, and said it plans to hold its next meeting at the Clarke Foley Centre, Ilkley, on April 26.