Thanks for visiting the County Durham CCGs Current conversations page. This new CCG was a lunched on 1 April 2020 and will be providing details of the opportunities for local people to contribute to the work it does in the near future. Please be aware, that due to the current national pandemic we have temporarily suspended any planned engagement and consultation activities so that all of the CCG staff can provide support and assistance to Primary care Community services and the wider healthcare system during this time.
Shotley Bridge Community Hospital services
Project Update July
Capital Funding update and Engagement report – September 2019
Following a number of national announcements on NHS capital funding the CCG has been seeking clarity on the availability of funding which was earmarked for North Durham Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) in relation to a building solution for services currently delivered from Shotley Bridge Community Hospital. The CCG must ensure that it has funding in place before consulting with the public on the development of future health services in North West Durham.
We can now confirm that the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) have told us that following a further discussion with DHSC finance and NHS England/Improvement colleagues that the Shotley Bridge scheme can now be progressed with an identified funding source. The CCG will now continue to work with NHS Property Services in developing a Pre-Consultation Business Case by the end of the calendar year. This will then be subject to the usual assurance processes by NHS England and we anticipate following this to formally consult with the public.
We also can now share the summary Shotley Bridge Community Hospital Services Engagement report following the extensive conversations that took place between March – May 2019
Update following Patient and Public Engagement – June 2019
The video below provides a brief recap on the rationale behind the patient and public engagement and what was undertaken as part of this between 27 March – 22 May 2019.
The full engagement report will be published on the this website once all of the feedback received through the public events, online questionnaire responses and wider ‘outreach sessions’ has been analysed. NHS North Durham CCG is currently bringing all of this feedback together with financial and service requirements to help inform preparations for the full formal consultation to further involve patients and the public in this work.
What was discussed as part of engagement – phase 1
There are a range of services that we are looking at as part of this piece of engagement. A summary of these areas can be seen in the ‘one page summary’‘ included. You can find more detailed information about each service, current levels of activity and the scenarios being discussed in the ‘Engagement Document’. We will provide regular updates on this work as it develops which will be added to this page, you can also review the information available in the following documents;
- Engagement Document
- Engagement scenarios ‘one page summary’
- Frequently Asked Questions document
Gathering views about using digital technology to speak to a GP
The NHS in County Durham, Sunderland and South Tyneside are working together to understand your thoughts of the different ways people can consult with a healthcare professional at their GP practice.
Covid-19 also known as coronavirus, has meant that NHS healthcare staff have needed to use different ways of providing a clinical consultation to ensure that patients still get the healthcare they need. As well as the traditional methods such as face-to-face appointments, GPs, nurses and hospital staff have been using other, safer ways to consult such as telephone, online or video consultations.
Please find the time to let us know your thoughts about these different ways you can consult with your GP practice.
Developing the County Durham Primary Care Strategy 2021-22
Primary care – your local GP practice – is often described as the ‘front door of the NHS’ and provides people with community-based access to medical services for advice, prescriptions, treatment or referral, usually through a General Practitioner (GP) or nurse.
It is estimated that around 90% of NHS contacts take place in primary care; with prescribed medication being the one of the most common interventions.
In County Durham, the Clinical Commissioning Group wants to share the draft of the future strategy regarding these services. The CCG is also interested to understand what your thoughts are on the vision and ambition it sets out. You can share your thoughts on the content of the draft strategy through a short online set of questions. Please provide your comments by Tuesday 24 November 2020, so that your feedback can be considered as part of the final development of the strategy before it is published in the new year.
After having watched the video, if you have any suggestions or particular comments about what is contained within the strategy you can share them with us to help improve it further by using the link below.
Survey
Community Equipment Service Review
County Durham and Tees Valley Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), Durham County Council and Darlington Borough Council
The County Durham and Darlington Community Equipment Service is the service which loans equipment (e.g. walking frames, beds, toilet aids) to children and adults of all ages with illness and/or disabilities to help with their nursing, social and rehabilitation care.
The service delivers, collects, fits, maintains, decontaminates and recycles a range of disability aids, equipment and adaptations to the population of County Durham and Darlington and plays a key role in facilitating hospital discharges, preventing avoidable admissions and ensuring independent living in the home.
County Durham and Tees Valley Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), Durham County Council and Darlington Borough Council are currently thinking about changes that could be made to the service to ensure it meets the needs of people living in County Durham and Darlington.
To do this we are carrying out an eight week listening exercise to talk to people across County Durham, Darlington and the wider Tees Valley about their experience of using the Community Equipment Service. This engagement starts on Monday 30th November 2020 and runs until Friday 22nd January 2021.
We will be gathering feedback from people that have loaned equipment from the service (adults and children) as well as staff who prescribe the equipment and care home providers but we are also interested in the views of people who haven’t had any experience of the current service.
We are using a mixture of online and postal surveys and also plan to carry out digital engagement sessions as due to the Covid-19 pandemic we are unfortunately unable to carry out face to face engagement at this time.
How to get involved
Complete a survey
Survey for people who have used the service:
If you have used the Community Equipment Service currently run by Medequip please complete the online survey using the links below;
There is one survey for adults that have used the service and another to complete if your child has used the service.
Community Equipment Service – adult survey
Community Equipment Service – children’s survey
Survey for people who have NOT used the service:
If you are a member of the public but have not used the service we are interested in your views as well. Please complete the survey below;
Community Equipment Service – public survey
Take part in a digital focus group
If you are interested in taking part in a digital focus group to discuss your experience of the Community Equipment Service or you have not used the service but would like to get involved in the discussion please e-mail d.blagdon@nhs.net and we will contact you with further details.
Useful information
Social media messages – pending