South Reading CCG is supporting Jane Brooks - a PhD student working on Public and Patient Involvement by helping her get responses to her questionnaire for Long Term Condition sufferers and their carers. If you, or the person you care for, suffers from diabetes, stroke, TIA, heart disease or respiratory disease please fill in Jane's questionnaire. Start by clicking here. Please complete the questionnaire by 27th September 2013.

The South Reading NHS CCG summarises changes it is making to services and processes for Children and Young People here . There will be more Heath Visitors, the Family Nurse Partnership working with teenage mums, a single point of entry to CAMHS, expansion of the Talking Therapies programme and other changes. These changes are in response to points made at the Childrens' and Voluntary Youth Services AGM this summer.

The board of the NHS South Reading Clinical Commissioning Group meets in public at 12:30-4:00pm, Wednesday, 18th September 2013 at the Museum of English Rural Life, Redlands Road, Reading RG1 5EX. This is an occasion to hear about the quality and performance achievements and concerns of the health care commissioned by the CCG and to ask questions of the board. The agenda and papers will be available from 11 September at www.southreadingccg.nhs.uk. If you intend to attend please let the arrangers know by email to ppiteam.berkshire@nhs.net by noon on 16th September. Advance questions to the board should also be emailed to ppiteam.berkshire@nhs.net by noon on 16th September.

If you have a health care complaint that has not led to a satisfactory outcome you can drop in on the Independent Complaint Advocacy Service from 11am - 1pm on Friday, 11th October. The Advocacy service is provided by SEAP Reading under contract from Reading Borough Council. Their next drop-in session is at 11am-1pm, Friday, 11th October at THE WAREHOUSE 1a Cumberland Road, Cemetary Junction, Reading, RG1 3LB This is close to the bus stops at Cemetery Junction used by routes 13, 14, 17 and 190. This is a free advocacy service required by government, which can help you take your complaint through to a satisfactory outcome.

The local area team of NHS England is directly responsible for our primary and dental care, for some screening services, for specialist health services and for some co-responsibility and supervision of the Clinical Commissioning Groups in our area that purchase our hospital and community nursing care. The local area team for the Thames Valley is based in Oxford. This Oxford-based organisation is organising a one-day event for charities and voluntary organisations to discuss and develop means of patient engagement. The event will be located (surprise, surprise!) in Oxford at the Kassam Stadium on Thursday, 26th September. Please see the announcement for further details and booking. The location is accesible by public transport as there is a roughly hourly bus service (Thames Travel T3 from the centre of Oxford (not rail station)).

The West Berkshire Neurological Alliance has published its August Newsletter with much detail including the funding of two specialist nurse positions for epilepsy and for ME/CFS.

Reading Borough Council has published the Summer 2013 edition of its Social Care newsletter Care Junction.

South Reading CCG covering Reading from Tilehurst through Central Reading, Whitley, University and East Reading, is supporting World Breastfeeding Week from 1st to 7th August. There are events for pregnant women at the Whitley Sure Start Childrens' Centre - click here for details.

 The NHS 111 telephone service has now been fully launched in Berkshire, after extensive trials. Latest statement from South Reading NHS CCG (30th July 2013): " We are using South Central Ambulance Service, a respected and stable service which provides 999 call handling, to provide the NHS111 service for Berkshire. It has a strong clinical presence in the form of nurse practitioners and paramedics supporting the call handlers. Since phasing in the service performance has been closely monitored and has met Department of Health standards for strong performance. Across the whole of Berkshire more than 45,000 calls have been received since the service went live. So far there is a 25% reduction in GP Out of Hours activity and below national average referrals to 999 of 7%. Over 96% of calls are answered within 60 seconds. As Commissioners we are satisfied the public in Berkshire are getting a safe and strongly performing service that we will continue to monitor and improve. Although NHS 111 has experienced difficulties elsewhere in the country, we would like to reassure people that the service in Berkshire provides a high quality, safe and effective service for patients. However, it is under continuous review by the CCGs in Berkshire to ensure this level of service is maintained." The 111 service has been introduced and then withdrawn after catastrophic failure elsewhere, but here it has been carefully trialled and is being managed by the South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust. Here is the official announcement. The NHS 111 telephone service has now been successfully launched in Berkshire. NHS 111 is the number to call if someone needs medical help fast but they are not in a life-threatening situation. The service went live in July after undergoing a series of tests and assurance processes. The easy to remember, free to call number is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to help people access the care they need, wherever they are and no matter what time of day it is. On dialling 111 callers are put through to a team of highly trained advisers, and experienced nurses and paramedics, receive a clinical assessment and are directed to the local service that can help them best at that time. This could be by providing details of the nearest pharmacy, direction to an appropriate service such as the GP out of hours service or even dispatching an ambulance if this is required. The service will increase the efficiency of the NHS by directing people to the right service at the right time and by avoiding delays and inappropriate use of services.such as 999 and Accident and Emergency departments, enabling them to be used by those who really need them. There are only three number people need to know, 999 for life-threatening emergencies, their GP surgery for routine health conditions and 111 for urgent/unplanned health conditions or when they are unsure of which service to access.

How 111 Works

• Free to dial, including from a mobile, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
• Immediate clinical assessment by trained call handlers, supported by experienced clinicians
• Ability to refer callers to other providers without the caller being re-triaged
• Ability to transfer clinical assessment data to other providers
• Ability to provide health information or reassurance, including self-care
• Replaces the old NHS Direct phone number (0845-46-47)

The provider of the NHS 111 service for residents in Berkshire is South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust. NHS 111 now takes the calls to GP out of hours services and NHS Direct and any numbers previously used to access these services will have messages advising callers to dial 111. If you have any questions about NHS 111 in Berkshire please email nhs111berkshire.feedback@nhs.net

The Board of NHS England has just agreed that it will be transferring 3% of CCG budgets to integration of Health and Social Care controlled by Health and Well-Being Boards in 2015/16. Is this budget really going to be used for health purposes or is it a diversion of money from the NHS to save Government from funding social care properly? Are NHS England even acting within their powers in doing this? See the NHS England Board paper.