Monday 9th May 2011

A landmark event discussing the future of the local NHS is to take place on Wednesday, May 11th at the Chesterfield Hotel between 2pm and 4pm.

GPs from Hardwick Health, who are trialling NHS reforms on behalf of 103,000 patients in Bolsover and North Derbyshire prior to the national 2013 deadline, will lead the high level talks.

The group of GPs was the first in the county to be awarded 'pathfinder' status by the Department of Health - an official recognition of the excellent track record they have in developing services that meet the needs of patients in the area.

Now the cutting-edge organisation is to consult with leading local authority and health figures over their plans, with senior representatives from North East Derbyshire District Council, Bolsover District Council, the Bolsover Local Strategic Partnership, NHS Derbyshire, Derbyshire Community Health Services and Social Services Adult Care attending.

Chair Dr Steve Lloyd, who works at Emmett Carr Surgery, said: "We believe that a strong and robust NHS capable of meeting the challenges ahead needs to be underpinned by open and honest relations with key local health partners.

"Over the past four years we have been working together as a core group of nine practices, so we are delighted to be leading the way on discussions which will be central to how our patients will receive their future care.

"Many of our practices also have patient participation groups, and these talks are just the beginning of a wider conversation we need to be having about how we can move the health agenda forward and place patients at the centre of everything we do."

Hardwick Health has led the way on a number of key developments in the area including devising a programme to help dermatologists pass on their skin disease expertise to others.

A number of the group's projects have won national recognition, including a Unique Care project that enables greater understanding between social care and health professionals. This project has resulted in social care professionals being able to access medical assessments more readily and patient care arrangements set up without delay.

Their work will particularly focus on the needs of patients in Bolsover and North East Derbyshire, whose health is generally worse than in many other parts of the county.

A workshop seeking the views of key partners will set out issues and future challenges. These will then be taken forward to form the basis of a working party that will use recommendations to examine problems and suggest ways of dealing with them.

"As GPs, we understand the specific needs of people in Bolsover and North East Derbyshire, and this, combined with our award-winning expertise, will enable us to make significant improvements to the health and well-being of our patients," Dr Lloyd added.

Hardwick Health has already developed strong relationships with local health partners including Chesterfield Royal Hospital, Derbyshire County Council and Derbyshire Community Health Services.

To date, a total of three GP groups in Derbyshire have been given 'pathfinder' status by the Department of Health, including Hardwick Health.

The other 'pathfinder' groups previously announced are North Derbyshire Consortium and the Erewash Consortium.

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