‘Culture of care’ at heart of NHS changes in Horsham

The Horsham and Mid Sussex Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) will take over services on April 1, but Simon Dean, locality chair for Horsham, said that patients will see no initial difference to their services.

In light of the damning Francis Report on the failure of care at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, published earlier this month, Dr Dean emphasised that caring for all patients needs would come ahead of finances and targets.

He said: “The Horsham and Mid Sussex CCG has at its heart a culture of caring for the patients and public that it serves.

“This stems from those doctors, lay members and professional managers that we have within the CCG and especially those within our governing body.

“These are times of great change within the NHS, but we are all insistent and clearly focused on the quality and safety of those we serve and we will not put targets and finances above these.”

The CCG has gone through a rigorous authorisation process to be ready for the April 1 date.

While they will make no initial changes, they hope to commission new and improved services in the coming years, especially at Horsham Hospital.

In September 2012 a memory assessment service was introduced to diagnose conditions affecting memory earlier.

Meanwhile in three Horsham surgeries they have launched a more proactive approach to looking after people with long-term medical conditions, which Dr Dean hopes will be rolled out further in the coming months.

NHS 111 will also replace NHS Direct in March, providing patients with a 24/7 365 days a year health advice service, leading to a more structured approach between self-help and ambulance services.

The CCG will also hold a ‘Meet the Leaders’ event on April 30 between 10am-12pm at the Pavilions, in Hurst Road, Horsham, where members of the public can meet and question local NHS decision-makers.

Horsham and Mid Sussex CCG covers the northern half of the district, with the southern half covered by Coastal West Sussex CCG.