Care board merger postponed until 2028
BBCAn MP said he welcomed the postponement of merger plans for two Integrated Care Boards (ICBs).
Government proposals to merge Devon and Cornwall's ICBs have been postponed until at least 2028, "pending wider discussions on devolution and future public service arrangements".
Ben Maguire, MP for North Cornwall, said he was "very hopeful" the plans would then be scrapped permanently.
"My constituents were rightly worried that a merged ICB would see decisions made in Plymouth and Exeter, taking power away from the patients and communities it is supposed to represent," he said.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "This government wants to give more powers and responsibilities to locally elected mayors to create stronger, more integrated local services, and to support that aim, we are looking to align the boundaries of integrated care boards with strategic authorities, including in the South West.
"However, the boundary changes in the South West will not proceed in 2027, pending wider discussions on devolution and future public service arrangements, and we will fully take on board the views of local communities before any final decisions are taken."
'Cornwall missing out'
Maguire said he co-signed a letter from Cornwall's other five MPs to the Health Minister in June, and pressed for the county's ICB to retain its singular control over services.
He said he was concerned decisions about healthcare in Cornwall could be made outside of the county, and that its funding could be used to plug the current deficit in Devon ICB's finances.
"Cornwall's ICB has a poor record of treating North Cornwall, my constituency, with anything like the fairness we should expect," he said.
"If it can't get that right when it's based here in Cornwall, I dread to think of the even worse effects a merged ICB would have."
He added: "Cornwall's ICB money should be ringfenced in any circumstances, and I'll now be pursuing a firm guarantee that Cornwall's ICB won't be subject to any further merger plans."
