South Reading NHS Clinical Commissioning Group specifies health services for its population of about 125,000 registered patients from healthcare and allied providers and passes NHS funds to them. It is federated with the Newbury/West-Berks, Wokingham and North-and-West-Reading CCGs in the Berkshire West CCG Federation using common central staff for most of its work, but has a few staff of its own to support its local activities. 20 GP practices in Tilehurst, Coley, South Reading, Central and East Reading, University area are its members and sit on its Council of Practices which selects the Governing Body chair and approves essential policies. It is run by a Governing Body, which holds a meeting in public once every 3 months, as well as a public AGM.

South Reading Patient Voice will meet on 23rd September at the NEW TIME of 6pm at 94, London Street, RG1 4SJ. The meeting will take the form of an AGM - with a review of the year's activity, planning ahead for future meetings and activities, and elections for the offices of chair, vice-chair and information officer. We will also review our "key messages" on the Berkshire West Primary Care Strategy and discuss the recent engagement event at the CCG AGM, and review news from PPGs and the CCG.

Since July 2015 Thames Valley Police working in Berkshire West (Reading, West Berks and Wokingham) have been able to call on a mental health professional when called upon to deal with mental ill health. A mental health professional from Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust (BHFT) will be available to police from 5pm to 1am from Thursday to Monday (5 days a week). The aim of the project (funded by the Department of Health) is to minimise the use of police custody as a place of safety for those suffering from mental ill health and to improve police interactions with those suffering from mental ill health. The mental health professionals are there to attend incidents with police officers so they can offer face-to-face advice, make accurate risk assessments and give the right care to the patient.

South Reading CCG will hold its annual meeting on Wednesday, 2nd September 2015 at Reading Town Hall in Blagrave Street. The meeting has three parts with an 11:00 am break and lunch for attendees as the intervals. The first part at 9:00am is the Governing Body Meeting in Public - until 11:00. The second part at 11:15am is the Annual Meeting of the South Reading NHS CCG. There can be discussion over lunch. Then there is a discussion meeting on GP services and primary care from 12:30pm to 2pm. This last part is open to any NHS patient registered in the Reading CCG areas, To ensure that there enough chairs, copies, sandwiches etc. please register by email with ppiteam.berkshirewest@nhs.net or by phone on 0118 982 2709. Joining instructions will be sent out about a week before the meeting. Papers for the Governing Body Meeting in Public are usually on the South Reading NHS CCG web site a week before the meeting and questions for the end of the meeting may be mailed to ppiteam.berkshirewest@nhs.net .

A fire in the Coronary Care Unit at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading on 30th July 2015 disrupted power and water supplies and as of 9am on 2nd August 2015 the hospital is asking patients to consider alternatives if they have non-emergency concerns. Mary Sherry, Chief Operating Officer said on 2nd August 2015: Yesterday we began a phased approach to return patients to Battle and North Blocks and this will continue throughout today. Our A&E is open, and while the power issues did not affect A&E directly, we would ask the public to continue to consider suitable alternatives if they have non-emergency concerns as our hospital remains at internal incident status and remains under pressure until all patients are safely returned to the areas that were affected. "I would also like to thank our patients and their relatives for bearing with us during this time, and our neighbouring hospitals, SCAS, community services, walk in centres and the Red Cross for the support they continue to provide." To check on the most up to date situation click here.

According to Health Service Journal "Every clinical commissioning group in England has been directed to evaluate estate within its area to work out how much capital funding can be released by property sales." Generation rent, anyone?

A Suicide Awareness Training Workshop of two and a half hours will be held in Reading from 13.00 to 15.30pm on Monday, 21st September at The Avenue Centre, Conwy Close, Tilehurst, Reading, Berkshire RG30 4BZ. The aim is to empower mental health carers with the skills and confidence to help effectively prevent self-harm and suicide. The course has been developed by the Reading Community Mental Health Team - part of Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust and by the Mental Health Carers Campaign Group in Reading. The training outcomes intended are:

1. To help carers understand more about self-harm and how to help someone who self harms.
2. To help carers spot when there is a risk of suicide and how to help.
3. To provide carers with local avenues of support for themselves and the person who is having suicidal thoughts.
4. To signpost carers to useful national resources.

The first course will be run as a pilot so attendees will receive a 10 shpping voucher after the course as thanks for taking part. For further information or to request a place please send an email to MHCcampaigngroup@yahoo.com

Reading people will be able to quiz the commissioners in charge of services about the future of GP and other primary care services in Reading. This event - at 3rd floor, Reading Central Library, King's Road at 4pm on Tuesday 21st July 2015 - which is open to all Reading residents - follows on from the North and West CCG public meeting and AGM beforehand. To book your place call the Berkshire West comms team on 01189 822709, or email ppiteam.berkshirewest@nhs.net

Reading's Strategic Environment, Planning and Transport Committee received a report on 15th July which estimated that 5.9% of deaths of over 25s in Reading were due to air pollution. The national average is 5.3%. However, at nearly 1 in 16 deaths, amounting to 68 deaths a year in Reading, this is far too large a cause of mortality. Although air pollution levels are considered "generally good" levels of Nitrogen Dioxide exceed permitted levels near Cemetery Junction and on Caversham Road and levels of particulates are elevated. Read GetReading's report here .

South Reading Patient Voice will meet on Wednesday, 29th July at 6:15pm at the Reading Community Learning Centre, 94, London Street, RG1 4SJ. We will discuss local health matters and will look at the recently published Berkshire West Primary Care Strategy