South Reading CCG is getting a 5.7% increase in its programme budgets for 2016/7 as CCG funding allocations are eased towards nationally calculated targets. Other CCGs which are above target may well be getting less than this. The total for 2016/7 is 135.3 million in recurrent allocations.

South Reading CCG's Governing Body will meet in public at 9.30am on Wednesday, 2nd March 2016, in the Museum of English Rural Life on Redlands Road, Reading. To arrange your attendance please register here. There will be an opportunity to ask questions, which must be provided by noon on 1st March, at the end of the meeting. Papers for the meeting should be available five working days before on the South Reading CCG website.

University Health Centre will merge with Whitley VIlla GP practice in April 2016. South Reading GP practice will then merge with them in September 2016. Read the practice newsletter account of this.

From 1 April 2016 South Reading CCG will take on delegated responsibility for commissioning GP services, which are currently co-commissioned with NHS England. It is believed that this will offer the local CCG more flexibility in arranging GP services. We in South Reading could benefit particularly from an active management of GP services as there is a risk, as pointed out in the Primary Care Strategy, that our smaller practices will not have the capacity or even the premises to offer the range of services needed to keep people safe in their homes and out of hospital whenever appropriate.

Social Prescribing will be our main topic when Sarah Morland, of Reading Voluntary Action, tells us about this new development which is being piloted at several South Reading CCG area GP practices. The meeting will start at 6pm on 27th January 2016 at 94, London Street, RG1 4SJ. In addition to the talk on Social Prescribing we will be discussing news from Patient Participation Groups, from our CCG and from Reading Healthwatch. South Reading Patient Voice is open to anyone using a GP practice belonging to South Reading CCG while others my attend as guests by arrangement.