Chance to meet the GPs shaping the future of NHS

The Horsham Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) will officially launch at Pavilions in the Park on April 30, 10am–12pm

Public involvement lies at the heart of a national reorganisation of the NHS which saw Horsham and Mid Sussex Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) take over from the primary care trust on 1 April 2013.

Doctors are now in control of a £231.1million annual medical budget for the 212,000 people living in Horsham and Mid Sussex including Burgess Hill, East Grinstead and Haywards Heath. But the future shape of local healthcare services rests with the patients and public using them, who will now get a say in how care is developed and run locally.

CCG clinical chair Dr Minesh Patel said: “The changes to the NHS are all about tailoring local services to local need. It’s up to the public, combined with doctor’s expertise, to help us to decide where best to focus our attentions to deliver health and wellbeing that really meets the community’s needs. We’re inviting you to our launch events to find out just what the CCG is all about and how it affects you.

“These launch events are all about explaining to the public what the CCG does, who we are and how they can get involved. People don’t need to give up huge amounts of time to have a real influence on their local NHS services - we want to make patient involvement as simple and easy, but as effective, as it can be.”

Horsham and Mid Sussex CCG has responsibility for planning and buying the majority of health services across a large part of the county including hospital care, community hospitals and community-based care including nurses, health visitors and therapists, medicines, mental health, services for people with learning difficulties, care for people with continuing health care needs. The group will focus on a set of five goals which include preventing people from dying prematurely; enhancing quality of life for people with long-term conditions; helping people to recover from episodes of ill health or following injury; ensuring that people have a positive experience of care; and treating and caring for people in a safe environment and protecting them from avoidable harm.

During the three two-hour long launch events taking place throughout the CCG’s patch you will be able to meet the GPs who are leading the new organisation, patient representation group members from local GP Surgeries, as well as some of the project team who work to deliver our vision for health care across Horsham and Mid Sussex.

Horsham and Mid Sussex CCG is made up of all the area’s 23 GP practices and are represented by a governing body which includes the clinical chair Dr Minesh Patel who also works at Moatfield Surgery in East Grinstead, six clinical directors who are all also GPs, a Chief Officer, a Chief Finance Officer, two independent clinical representatives and two lay representatives, all supported by a small team of experienced health managers.