Press release
Doctors in the driving seat of the new NHS
Bury’s new Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has taken over the leadership of the local NHS.
Bury’s CCG assumed responsibility for the leadership of the NHS in Bury from 1st April 2012, taking over from the NHS Bury Locality Board.
The new structure puts doctors, nurses, other clinicians and partners in the driving seat to make decisions about local health services.
The changes form part of the Government’s radical plans to reform the NHS as signalled in the Health and Social Care Act. This will result in a clinically-led NHS delivering the best possible care for patients.
Although it will be another year (1st April 2013) before NHS Bury is abolished, paving the way for Bury CCG to fully take over as the local statutory NHS commissioning organisation, this ‘shadow year’ will see Bury CCG take over responsibility for arranging healthcare services for local people.
Dr. Kiran Patel, Chair and Clinical Lead for Bury CCG said: “We are taking the maximum advantage of our new powers and freedom to act. One of our key aspirations is to involve local patients in a meaningful way. We are establishing a Patient Cabinet, this will be a group of patients chaired by a ‘Patient Champion’. The Cabinet will represent the views and perspectives of Bury patients in future decisions.”
“At an early stage, we established some very clear values, in addition to involving patients in our work; these include improving local services, reducing health inequalities and prioritising our resources whilst ensuring best value for money.”
“We feel strongly that working with local GPs, nurses, clinicians and other partners puts us in a strong position. The new structure will put us in the best position to commission high quality responsive services which are tailored to the needs of local people. We have challenges ahead, but this is an exciting opportunity to improve local health services to meet needs both now, and in the future.”
Bury CCG represents all 33 GP practices in Bury, serving a population of around 190,000 patients. The CCG Board is supported by a Clinical Cabinet of doctors, nurses, consultants, and other partners including a representative from the Local Authority, to inform the design and purchasing of local health services.
ENDS
Date: 24th April 2012
For press & media enquiries: contact Caroline Dearden, Corporate Communications Manager on 0161 762 3106 or email bur-pct.communications@nhs.net