Reading is marking International Older Peoples' Day with an exhibition and events at Rivermead Leisure Centre on Monday, 9th October from 1pm to 4pm. And South Reading Patient Voice will be there too. Please see the attached flyer for transport details.
The independent Berkshire charity Sport In Mind, which "Promotes Mental Well-Being Through Sport", is holding a charity walk on 7th October 2017.
Start at Reading's Civic Offices on Bridge Street at 10.30am and walk 5.5km to the Cunning Man pub. Have lunch there and walk
back or take the 2 or 2a bus back into Reading. Please register via info@sportinmind.org and make your charitable donation at www.virginmoneygiving.com/SportInMindCharityWalk2017.
The Reading Health and Wellbeing Board meets in the Civic Offices on Bridge Street at 2pm on Friday, 6th October 2017.
World Mental Health Day is on Tuesday, 12th October and we have events in Reading on that day and on Thursday 12th and Friday 13th.
South Reading Patient Voice will be meeting at 6pm on Wednesday, 27th September at 94, London Street, Reading RG14SJ - Reading Community Learning Centre. We will hear a talk from David Cooper - until recently Lead Governor at the Royal Berkshire Hospital Trust. We will also discuss our response to the proposal to merge Berkshire West CCGs and create an Accountable Care System, news from local Patient Participation Groups and the local health economy.
The Government has backed out of selling the NHS's internal staff agency - NHS Professionals after much opposition and demands for an enquiry.
The new 111 NHS telephone service, starting on 5th September 2017 in Berkshire West and other parts of the Thames Valley has is designed as an Integrated Urgent Care service. It is more closely integrated with the out-of-hours GP service. It is anticipated that about 30% of calls will be handled by a clinician.
For 2016-17 NHS spending was £145 billion which is 6.5% of GDP of about £2.2 trillion. Private health spending is thought to be a little above 1% of GDP or about £26 billion, giving total health expenditure of 7.5 - 8% of GDP, but adding in social care for international comparison, total health expenditure by international definition is about 9.9% of GDP. For comparison Germany, France, Sweden and Japan spend about 11% of (a larger per capita) GDP.
Pulse Today magazine has reported that NHS England is planning that ALL GP referrals should be prospectively peer reviewed and is arranging a system of funding to incentivise this.
The Primary Care Commissioning Committee for Berkshire West meets in public at 1pm on Wednesday, 13th September at Shaw House, Church Road, Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 2DR.