We are a group of local GPs who are members of the board of Herts Valleys Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). We want to respond to a letter, ‘Despicable’ care cuts, Letters to the Editor, December 30, 2016.

It is important that local people know that the decision was not taken lightly. We care very much about all the people listed in the letter – and for everyone who lives in this area.

READ MORE: Care cuts are 'despicable'

As GPs we see patients who need a range of different types of care. As an NHS CCG, we must make sure that we make the best possible use of the resources we get from the government so that the right health care is provided to our patients.

As is the case with all CCGs across the country, we are not allowed to spend any more than the budget we are given. It is difficult to do this given the growing population and increasing demands on health services.

Colleagues at Herts County Council (HCC) requested additional special financial support from us for this current year and the previous one. We agreed to provide this extra help because at that time our financial position allowed us to.

The situation is now different and we are predicting we will end the financial year in deficit – for the first time. This is why we have reviewed all our expenditure and we are not able to continue to provide that extra funding of social care.

The county council has a legal duty to provide social care; ours is to provide health care. This doesn’t mean we don’t support social care; we do and to the tune of about £9.5m via, for example, the Better Care fund that helps join up health and social care.

We will also have to look at a number of other areas of expenditure and, as doctors working for local people, we are doing all we can to minimise the impact on patients.

Your correspondent says that this is all about cuts to community care. This is absolutely not the case; our approach is to support the services that help keep people out of hospital and in their homes.

There are huge pressures on health services such as in urgent care, in general practice – including out of hours - and in hospital services too. We must make sure that these services are properly provided for and this currently leaves no room for extra support for social care.

In the same way that we, as doctors working in health care, need to focus on how to make the most of the money we have, Herts County Council needs to look at how best to use their own funds and prioritise accordingly.

Mike Edwards (Hertsmere GP), Rami Eliad (Watford GP), Mike Walton (St Albans GP), Richard Pile (St Albans GP), Keith Hodge (Hemel Hempstead GP), Trevor Fernandes (Hemel Hempstead GP)