We're holding the next Fit for the Future event on Thursday 5 July at the Swan. The time out event follows on from the strategy day in May looked at how we shape the future of primary care.

At a Shareholder event at the end of 2017, you talked to us about the future of general practice. We used this to help us plan for a strategy event held in May, in conjunction with our CCG, to look at how we shape the future of primary care. This first event in a series was an opportunity for us to raise and discuss ideas, and was attended by over 100 people from our practices. We generated over 100 ideas! We then took the opportunity to discuss 40 in detail in smaller teams, and we will use these to create funded projects to be discussed at the next event.

Themes emerging included:

• Collaborative working in primary care
• Collaborative working with local partners (Trusts, local authority, Voluntary sector)
• Workforce development
• Patient education and self-care

We hope to see you there and we’ll continue to update you on Fit for the Future and feedback from the event. 

For further information contact [email protected]

Thank you to everyone who attended our Annual General Meeting (AGM) last month. It was great to look back at our progress over the last 12 months and to share some of our future plans. ​

The second full year of our GP Federation was a period of rapid growth for the organisation. The early years of Hartlepool & Stockton Health have been in many ways about laying foundations. Our focus as we move forward is about building on this so that our services move from good to great, in the eyes of patients and practices. We will do this by being open and by seeking your thoughts, and so expect to see better and more regular communication via newsletters, on our website and on social media.

Looking ahead, the NHS is in a period of intense pressure, and primary care within this is facing significant challenges. Our population is growing and advances in medical science have led to large numbers of people who are living longer, with multiple serious conditions. Medical professionals are in demand and general practice must find ways to compete to attract and retain the best clinicians, whilst coping with increasing demand as the trusted ‘front door’ of health. We are committed to supporting strong General Practice teams to be fit for this future and helping in any way we can.

A huge thank you to our shareholders who work with us, our practices who area constant source of advice and expertise, and all of the people who work in our services and offer feedback on how we can improve.


A copy of our annual report is available here and please get in touch of you have any questions.

Thanks,

The Hartlepool & Stockton Health team