CCGs in Suffolk have appointed their GP Chairs to lead the charge to improve local healthcare offerings in the area.
Following its recent merger, practice staff from across 42 practices within the East Suffolk and Ipswich CCG elected Chair Dr Mark Shenton, who will become responsible for the buying and managing of healthcare services for 385,000 people.
Seven GPs have been elected to the East Suffolk and Ipswich CCG Board and will be joined by a secondary care doctor, a lead nurse and two lay members.
“As a clinically-led organisation, CCG will bring very real benefits to patients, their carers and families, putting them at the heart of our work,” said Dr Shenton, a GP at Stowhealth in Stowmarket.
“We want to work with the community, clinicians and health professionals and social care colleagues to make sure people in Ipswich and East Suffolk get the care they need.
“Already, in Ipswich and East Suffolk we have introduced new initiatives that see patients being treated closer to home, saving them time and improving recovery rates. Working with consultants at Ipswich Hospital we have delivered the Advice Letter Listing scheme, which means some patients can be treated in the community rather than in the hospital outpatients department.”
Dr Christopher Browning has also been elected as the GP Chair for the West Suffolk CCG– taking over the responsibility of managing the healthcare budget for 235,000 patient population in the area.
GPs from across 25 practices within the West Suffolk CCGs have already elected eight board members and two practice managers.
Dr Browning, from Long Melford surgery, said work has already been done to address the challenges of West Suffolk’s aging population, such as better managing long-term conditions and helping to make sure fewer people suffer falls.
“These are exciting times for the NHS in West Suffolk. The West Suffolk Clinical Commissioning Group is made up of local health care professionals who have a real passion for improving patient care,” he said.
Under the contract, Serco and its partners are expected to provide a wide range of community health services for over 600,000 patients in Suffolk.
