Local health services in the spotlight

Released on 20 September 2012

Local GPs are inviting people who live in Surrey Heath to tell them what they think about their health services by taking part in a short online survey at Surrey Heath CCG health priorities survey Opens in a new window

It's all part of planning for the future and making sure the local community has the opportunity to influence decision making when GPs take over the commissioning of local healthcare.

Nine GP practices in Surrey Heath have formed a new organisation called Surrey Heath Clinical Commissioning Group, or CCG for short. From April next year it will be responsible for over £100m of taxpayers' money to plan and buy hospital, community and other health services for over 90,000 registered patients. This results from the coalition government's health reforms which involve Surrey Heath CCG taking over some of the responsibilities of the primary care trust (NHS Surrey) which will be abolished.

Dr Andy Brooks, who is a GP from Park Road Surgery and Chief Officer Designate, said:
"I'm enormously proud to lead the new Surrey Heath CCG and believe we have a unique opportunity to make a lasting difference by improving healthcare for local people. GP's see patients day in, day out, so we know what they need and what their concerns are. We can see which services work, and perhaps how services could be tweaked to make them work better and ensure that patients get the best care and treatment they need quickly.

"Our ambition is to use our strong local relationships and knowledge to be cost effective and to bring the best possible health outcomes for our patients. We are a lean organisation which means we can streamline decision making and we are committed to making sure local people's views are taken into account".

If you prefer to have the survey mailed to you please contact 01372 201723.The Surrey Heath CCG website Opens in a new window has lots of information about the CCG and how you can get involved in its work.