WE live in interesting times say the Chinese.

And indeed we do. That is especially the case if you work in the public sector right now, though it’s pretty testing in the private sector too, as most businessmen and women would no doubt agree.

The NHS continues to be at the centre of politics after the government’s climbdown this week on the Health and Social Care Bill. Locally, as we reveal today, the boards of directors of the two hospital trusts in Bournemouth and Poole plan to appoint consultants to see how they can work together more closely.

If the independent assessors recommend a merger of the two bodies, it could happen in less than two years. Whatever the outcome and the extent of collaboration, the idea of merging the management of local health services delivered to a population of just over 300,000 people sounds like a very sensible one, given the huge challenges and major savings that must be faced.

Councils like East Dorset and Christchurch have already fused their management and service delivery to meet financial targets and improve efficiency and it’s a model for public sector organisations. Who knows?

The coming together of the two trusts might just prove to be the catalyst for another money-saving merger that ought to be underway already. That of Bournemouth and Poole’s two unitary councils. I have yet to hear a coherent argument against it.