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Developments
Activity has continued apace over the summer to keep things moving
forward at Assura Hampshire Health. We are hopefully close to winning
our first contract to provide a service. This will be for flexible
sigmoidoscopies. This service is currently run by GPSIs Steve Colley and
David Knight., from Tadley Surgery or The Chase in Bordon. Local GPs are
familiar with the quality of service
that they provide and will be reassured to know that under the auspices
of Assura Hampshire Health the same clinicians will continue to provide
that service. The location may be different, and because we have the
opportunity to take a fresh look at how things are done, we can use the
the expertise and resources available to design a first-rate service for
patients. Current activity in this service is around
700 cases a year.
Premises
As everyone will know, Church Grange and Bramblys
Grange surgeries are finally escaping from their decrepit old premises
to sparkling new accommodation at Crown Heights. We wish them all the
best for their moves. One very important decision for the CMC at Assura
Hampshire Health concerns where our services will be provided from. A
sizeable clinical space is available at
Crown Heights which could be fitted out to our specification and which
would provide an identifying focal point for the organisation. The CMC
are looking very closely (and with professional advice) at the logistics
of taking the lease on this space. An alternative would be to rent space
as required. At least initially,
Health Service contracts would not fully occupy it so to rent may seem
attractive, but taking a lease would give us much more influence. The
possibility of doing this and perhaps subletting unused space is being
very carefully considered. Also the possibility of finding other
accommodation within the town is being investigated. If any LLP members
have views on this, do let us know.
Other work in progress
Assura Medical are continuing to help with important aspects of
commencing service provision such as policies and procedures which must
be formally stated and documented in order to ensure HCC compliance for
any new service. Also extensive modelling is being done for proposed
services to assess their viability. Assura are also providing some
training
for CMC members to help enhance the committee’s effectiveness.
The Assura Hampshire Health website is having the finishing touches
applied- this will be accessible by all LLP members and will provide up
to date information about our services.
A lot of discussion and negotiation is going on between the Foundation
Trust, the Practice Based Commissioners and ourselves over how to move
services forward. We are enthusiastic that in these changing and
challenging times for the Health Service, Assura Hampshire Health will
provide a mechanism that enables local clinicians to have a say in how
at least some aspects of Health Service care are delivered to their
patients.
Your feedback is important- do email a CMC member with any thoughts or
queries about |
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Assura Hampshire Health is a new organisation which is being developed
to provide clinical services in Basingstoke and the surrounding area.
It is a Limited Liability Partnership between Basingstoke GPs and Assura
Medical.
As the National Health Service changes, the ways in which health care is
delivered will change. The opportunity is there for clinicians to have a role in
modelling and delivering some of the services to come. Assura Hampshire Health
will focus on areas where service delivery in the community is feasible and the
Department of Health is encouraging services to be brought closer to patients
where possible.
The new Provider organisation would be able to tender to provide a wide variety
of possible services, but will initially focus on one or two which particularly
lend themselves to being more community based.
The emphasis will be on adding value for patients, and with efficient business
planning, there will be savings for the PCT as well as a profit for the
providers; everyone can benefit. But it can only work if clinicians work
together with a shared vision of how health care can be delivered more
effectively and efficiently.
With Practice Based Commissioning becoming a reality, we have the opportunity to
involve local doctors in providing the best in local health services for
Basingstoke and the North Hampshire area. |
