Carers week 2014 takes place in Reading from 9th to 15th June. See the attached programme of events for a range of activities covering a wide spectrum of carers' concerns, including advice on Carers Allowance, picnic by the Thames and introduction to new technology to support carers.

We will be meeting between 6pm and 7:30pm on Wednesday, 28th May 2014 at 6pm at the Communicare office behind Wycliffe Baptist Church, Cemetery Junction (see attached Agenda for directions) .

We are informed that the new Chief Executive of the Royal Berkshire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust will be Jean O'Callaghan. Jean's background is as Director of the South Australian Health Commission and then as chief executive of Bedford Hospital then Dorset County Hospital. We wish her all success in this important post and look forward to hearing her ideas on the development of RBH and its place in our local health services.

Data is a valuable resource in the NHS. Careful study of the statistics of disease and mortality can lead to understanding that saves lives - like the understanding that smoking cigarettes can cause lung cancer.

Data relating to hospital episodes has been collected and studied for many years.

The new "Care.Data" program is intended to allow data held at GP surgeries to be studied in a similar way. Data is to be anonymised and linked to hospital and other medical data and permission is given for this on a project by project basis.

'You can now "Beat The Street" with South Reading Patient Voice's own team.

Beat the Street is an initiative of the local CCGs and Reading Borough to promote health through walking. It runs until 4th June.

Whether you join our team or another this is what you have to do:

1. Get your plastic "Beat the Streets" ID card from your GP surgery or local library.

National Mental Health Awareness Week takes place from 12th to 16th May 2014.

Berkshire Healthcare Trust events can be found here .

Together events are an open day on 13th May at 127, Oxford Road from 12pm to 4pm and the Womens' Group Afternoon Tea, at Bridge Hall, Oxford Road, on 14th May from 1.30pm to 3.30pm. See attached poster.

The South Reading CCG proposes to plan Patient Engagement in a more formal way. To this end it has included a plan-on-a-page for Patient Engagement in its current operational plan. It has supported a proposal for a new initiative to be run jointly with SRPV to organise up to 4 large-scale meetings or activities per year to reach a larger number than most current SRPV meetings, at which CCG messages could be communicated and discussed.

We will be meeting between 6pm and 7:30pm on Wednesday, 30th April 2014 at 6pm at the Communicare office behind Wycliffe Baptist Church, Cemetery Junction (see attached Agenda for directions) .

The Governing Body of South Reading NHS CCG met in public on 19th March 2014, to review performance, development and quality reports and to approve three significant plans.

We will be meeting between 6pm and 7:30pm on Wednesday, 26th March 2014 at the University Health Centre, 9, Northcourt Avenue, Reading RG2 7HE

Our main item will be the proposal to review the SRPV's structure and activities - see attached paper.