CLINICAL leaders from across the county have come together at a landmark health summit to help to develop more effective ways of working together.

Lead GPs and managers from County Durham and Darlington’s three CCGs met with clinicians and managers at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, Tees Esk and Wear Valley Mental Health Trust and representatives from Tees and North Yorkshire CCGs to share a vision for developing a new framework to deliver clinical strategies that will shape local health services in the future.

CCGs, which will replace Primary Care Trusts from April 1, are a major part of the NHS reforms, empowering clinicians and putting patients at the heart of healthcare.

Chair of Darlington CCG, Dr Andrea Jones, who chaired the event, said that CCGs were poised and ready to take over.

“We are waving goodbye to the old commissioning environment,” she said. “Come April 1 a new day begins which will be laden with opportunities.

“The new system is complex but we have been handed a baton and as clinicians we have to seize it, own it and engage with it. This can only work, however, if we all do it together.

“I have been a GP in Darlington for the past 22 years and in that time have seen a steady decline in the relationships between primary and secondary care. It has become endemic in the health culture and now is the time to take stock.

“We need a whole system approach to see how we fit together as organisations to ensure our patients get the best care. I think that together we can make a real difference.

“We need to develop a culture where ‘your problem is my problem’ and ask how we can work together better to the ultimate benefit of the healthcare of our patients.”

Richard Barker, Regional Director of the NHS Commissioning Board and a key speaker at the summit, said the meeting of clinical leaders across County Durham and Darlington was an unprecedented event for the NHS in the North-East.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for clinicians to get together to talk about how they can work collaboratively,”

he said.

“Across County Durham and Darlington we need to deliver great care and great services, but to do that we need to get the contracting of services right for our patients.

“We want CCGs to lead the way in primary care design by combining resources and working in partnership to achieve a more effective way to deliver healthcare. We now have a real chance to get that right.”

The summit also provided the opportunity for health officials to network, set out the roles and responsibilities for clinicians within the new health reforms and discuss strategic priorities.

Presentations were given on winter pressures by Chief Clinical Officer of North Durham CCG, Dr Neil O’Brien, and new ways of contracting by Dr Stewart Findlay, the Accountable Officer for Durham Dales, Easington and Sedgefield CCG.

Sue Jacques, the Chief Executive for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We have huge opportunities for improving services for patients by working together more effectively and agreeing shared priorities.

“I really believe we can go away from this summit with a framework of tangible actions that will make things better for the people we serve across County Durham and Darlington.”

Martin Barkley, the Chief Executive of Tees, Esk and Wear Valley NHS Foundation Trust, added: “The great thing about joint events like this is making the time to talk, listen and get to know each other – and that’s what we need to build on.

“What we have to bear in mind is ‘your problem is my problem’. We all have a different contribution to make for the benefit of working together and for the ultimate benefit of the healthcare of our patients.”