Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS, the White Paper published by the Government earlier this year, set out a vision for the NHS which will change the way the NHS works to offer patients outcomes that are among the best in the world. It plans to do this by providing people with more information about their treatment options and a greater say in their health and care so that ‘no decision about me, without me’ becomes the norm.
The White Paper and its accompanying documents Liberating the NHS: Commissioning for Patients and Increasing democratic legitimacy in health, propose to give General Practice clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) responsibility for improving the population's health. It offers them the power to do this by moving commissioning and resource allocation decisions as close to the patient as possible on the basis that clinicians in General Practice are best placed to understand local health needs.
To make the changes a success the Kent and Medway Cluster Board, which represents the three primary care trusts of NHS West Kent, NHS Eastern and Coastal Kent, and NHS Medway, is working with GP leaders to set up and develop CCGs.
From April 2012, the Kent and Medway Cluster Board will delegate up to 80 per cent of its commissioning responsibilities and budget to the emerging CCGs to enable them to run in ‘shadow’ as committees of the PCT boards.
CCGs in Kent and Medway include:
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Ashford
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Canterbury and Coastal (C4G)
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Dartford, Gravesham, and Swanley
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Medway
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South Kent Coast (covering Deal, Ash, Sandwich, Dover and Shepway)
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Swale
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Thanet
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West Kent
