On Monday Mr Tait and Dr Payne came to see me to discuss the local NHS. They are the CEO and Medical Director of NHS England for the Thames Valley. Their role is to oversee the work of the 10 Clinical Commissioning Groups in their area. Oxfordshire has one, Buckinghamshire 2, and Berkshire 7. We in the Wokingham constituency are in the West Berks one.
They told me they oversee the Clinical Commissioning Groups, the buyers of health care in the area. They also do some direct purchasing themselves to ensure a comprehensive free service for us. They cover issues like emergency planning and tertiary care.
I asked them if there were any plans afoot to make major changes in local hospital provision. They said they expected Heatherwood and Frimley to become larger hospitals but anticipate the Royal Berks on its current site will continue to be our main District General Hospital. Some more specialist areas will be run from Oxford, as at present.
I asked them what action was being taken to ensure
1. high standards of hotel service for patients in hospital
2. good control of patient records, with easy access for all nurses and care assistants to the information they need to look after each patient as required
3. proper control of stocks,equipment and drugs to avoid waste, loss and misuse
4. to ensure high standards of staff training and leadership, so that patients receive high quality care at all times
5. to handle changes of shift and to provide safe services at week-ends
They promised to get back to me and keep me in touch with developments as they get the new system to settle down.