We have recently received the following letter from this new body which will affect how local NHS services are delivered to you. Our local surgery is unlikely to be affected to us but services beyond that point might see some change as a consequence.
23rd January 2013
Dear Colleagues
We are delighted to inform you that North East Essex NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has been authorised by the NHS Commissioning Board (NHS CB) to take over commissioning responsibilities from NHS North Essex (the PCT cluster) from April 2013.
North East Essex CCG is very much ready to take over this important statutory duty of commissioning health services for local people in the Colchester and Tendring districts. The authorisation was granted with one condition at the lowest level of concern. That condition is about providing written evidence of collaboration agreements with our partner CCGs nearby, and we are confident that these conditions will be fully satisfied by March 2013.
We are very grateful for the immense support from local people and our partner organisations. The scrutiny of our readiness has been very detailed and robust including a 360 degree stakeholder survey, the submission of detailed reports and supporting documents, site visits and assessments by members of the NHS Commissioning Board panel. An incredible amount of hard work and dedication has been put in by the CCG team and constituent GP practices over the last two years. With authorisation comes added determination to achieve our commitment to improving the health outcomes, quality of care and patient experience for our local population.
During the build-up to authorisation, we have been highly rated within the NHS in the East of England. We will continue to build the organisation so that it has the ability to ensure we are addressing the health priorities and needs of local people. We should all be very proud of the teams of managers and clinicians that have worked extremely hard to achieve this and continue to help take our organisation from strength to strength.
Authorisation is not an end in itself. It is the start of an on-going process to ensure that the new clinical commissioning system will deliver high quality health services and better outcomes for local communities. We are very conscious that we are part of a wider NHS and public services system, so we will work very closely with partners such as the other Essex CCGs, local government organisations and our provider organisations.
Along with all our colleagues in the CCG, we would like to thank you for your continued support and we look forward to working together with you in the future to commission the best health services for people in North East Essex.
Yours sincerely
Dr Gary Sweeney Dr Shane Gordon
Chairman Clinical Chief Officer