City’s clinical commissioning group chiefs praise health staff for facing challenges of Covid-19

The governing body of the city and county’s CCG met on Thursday (June 10) to review and approve their annual report and accounts for 2020-21.

At the meeting the body reflected on the past year, particularly the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has brought, and praised the hard work and dedication of staff working across the NHS.

CCG chairman Dr Gary Howsam said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our CCG staff, as well as staff across the NHS and health and social care who continue to work hard to maintain services and high standards of care for our patients. In a year like no other, they really have gone above and beyond. Staff have stepped up to make sure the NHS could keep caring for patients during the pandemic, and many are now working on rolling out the country’s biggest ever immunisation programme.”

In the context of the continued pandemic response, the local NHS has also been able to make and plan for changes that will improve patient care.

One of the biggest steps forward was approval for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Health and Care system to become an Integrated Care System (ICS). Integrated Care Systems are new partnerships, set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, between health, care and voluntary organisations, and the local community, across an area. They will coordinate services with the aim of improving population health and reducing inequalities between different groups.

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is now on its way to transition to becoming a full ICS. The national ambition is for Integrated Care Systems to be operational by April 2022.

Other highlights from the annual report included:

○ Launch of the group’s biggest ever public health campaign, BMI Can Do It.

○ Plans to streamline urgent and emergency health pathways by relocating Peterborough’s Urgent Treatment Centre from its current location at the City Care Centre, to the front door of Peterborough City Hospital during 2021.

○ Expansion of Hospice at Home services and the launch of NHS 111 option 3 for people facing life-limiting illnesses.

○ Plans to bring together emotional wellbeing services for children and young people aged 0-25 years.

○ Launch of the Peterborough Mental Health Exemplar, one of 12 national community mental health pilot sites to transform community mental health services.

○ A number of award wins and award nominations.

The annual accounts for 2020-21 confirmed that the CCG ended the year with a small surplus of £137,000.

The reports will be formally presented and published at the Annual Meeting later in the year.