New NHS leader springs in to life: West Essex Clinical Commissioning Group goes live on today (April 1)

WEST Essex Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) will go ‘live’ today (April 1).

After receiving authorisation from the NHS Commissioning Board, West Essex CCG will be the statutory body responsible for commissioning and buying healthcare services on behalf of the people of Epping Forest, Harlow and Uttlesford districts.

With a budget of around £318 million to spend on NHS services including, hospital care, mental health services and community services, the CCG will be GP-lead and run by a combination of clinicians and highly experienced NHS managers.

In order to achieve authorisation, West Essex CCG completed a rigorous process to show it is ready to lead the NHS in west Essex. The CCG has been operating in ‘shadow form’ since April 2012, as PCTs prepared to hand over commissioning responsibility, and has been working at pace to take over the role of designing and buying local health and well-being services.

Dr Rob Gerlis, chairman of West Essex CCG and Harlow GP, said: “It is with great pleasure that we are able to make this announcement. It is the start of a new journey and testament to 12 months of hard work, commitment and dedication from every member of staff, as well as tremendous support from our 39 GP member practices and all our partner organisations.

“We are passionate about ensuring people in West Essex receive the best possible, high quality care they deserve. We want patients to be at the heart of everything we do and we are committed to involving local people in decisions affecting their healthcare.”