NHS has to change - public asked to join local debate

People in West Berkshire are being invited to take part in an important debate in Newbury that will help shape the future of the NHS.
Residents, patients, carers, NHS staff and politicians have been invited to share their ideas for making health services better at the event, which will be held Shaw House, Newbury, next Thursday, from 7pm to 9pm.
It will be run by NHS Newbury and District Clinical Commissioning Group, which is made up of 11 GP practices and has a total registered population of about 113,000 people.
The chairman, Dr Abid Irfan, said: “There are choices to be made and that’s why I believe the public has to be engaged in this debate. By 2015-16, the pressure caused by increases in an aging population [will] equate to a seven per cent increase in hospital admissions and an eight per cent increase in beds [needed] in Berkshire West. This would require 78 additional beds to meet demand.”
“It is not about cutting services or charging for them, it is about looking at identifying preventative measures and ways in which we can run in a more efficient way, while getting patients more involved in their own care.”
CCGs are already taking a number of actions to prevent any financial deficit. These include looking at new technology, treating people closer to home and having consultant-led care in the community, further integrating health and social care in a patient-centred approach to services and doing more for people with mental illness.
Andrew Sharp, lay member of the CCG, said: “Lifestyle choices like smoking, excess drinking, unhealthy diets and a lack of exercise are all adding pressure on the NHS.
“Hospitals are under great pressure and the demand for healthcare will outstrip the funding available in just five years unless we fundamentally change the way services are delivered.
“[The] NHS cannot continue to provide clinical help and support for future generations in the way it does today. It has to change; doing nothing is not an option.”