Minutes:
Marc Rowland a GP at the Forest Hill Centre explained that NHS Lewisham Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is made up of 44 GP practices across Lewisham. We are responsible for planning and buying NHS services across the borough, and work with other clinicians and healthcare providers and the local authority to ensure that local people get the most accessible and effective healthcare services possible.
This includes:
The Clinical Commissioning Group does not commission primary care services, which includes GPs, pharmacists, dentists and opticians. These are commissioned by NHS England.
Lewisham CCG is overseen by the newly formed independent NHS England which ensures we have the capacity and capability to commission services successfully and to meet our financial responsibilities.
Along with commissioning services, we are also responsible for monitoring how well these services are provided. We can do this much better if we hear and understand what people think of their health services.
Rebecca Scott (Programme Director-Dulwich from NHS Southwark Clinical Commissioning Group) spoke briefly about the consultation currently under way on 'Improving health services in Dulwich and the surrounding areas'.
She explained that NHS Southwark CCG were consulting on some proposed changes to health services in the south of the borough, and that this could affect local people if they were registered with a GP in Southwark (eg Forest Hill Road Practice), or might wish to use health services in Southwark- eg at Dulwich Hospital.
She said that the CCG wanted to see a wider range of services available in community settings, and wanted to hear from people whether the list of services they were proposing was right. She also said that the additional services could be offered in two possible ways - either by having a larger health facility on the Dulwich Hospital site and core services only in general practices, or by having a smaller facility at Dulwich and more services in some of the larger general practices. She said that the CCG saw that there were advantages and disadvantages of both, but that they wanted to hear from the public.
She circulated a copy of the summary document, and encouraged people to complete the survey- either via a paper copy (available from freephone 0808 178 9055) or online.
Q In some parts of Forest Hill there is a greater distance to travel to the nearest GP than almost anywhere else in London. Do you think that there should be more GP’s covering Forest Hill?
A This is not perceived as a massive problem, however if we were to commission GP services we would be commissioning ourselves so this is covered by NHS England
Q Will I be able to access Southwark services if Lewisham if my GP does not provide them?
A Probably, it will depend on the services provided
Q Does the survey cover this whole area?
A It is not about an area, it is about what services you are likely to use