Local NHS rated as ‘outstanding’ by NHS England

Fri 21st July 2017

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NHS England has assessed NHS Sunderland Commissioning Group (CCG) and awarded the organisation an ‘outstanding’ rating.

The CCG achieved the top rating in the CCG annual assessment 2016/17, which sees an improvement on the ‘good’ rating awarded the previous year.

Each year, NHS England considers the strengths, challenges and areas for improvement across for each CCG in England. It looks at a range of different policy areas including finance, performance and leadership before awarding a rating of outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate.

Strong leadership in the CCG, as well as the quality of the work programmes being delivered were highlighted in the assessment. Key areas of strength included the provision of high quality hospital care, the number of patients waiting less than 18 weeks to receive hospital treatment and the diagnosis rate for patients with dementia.

David Gallagher, Chief Officer at NHS Sunderland CCG, said: “We are delighted with the assessment, which recognises the significant improvements and progress we have made over the year.

“The outstanding rating is a reflection of the commitment and hard work by our GPs, staff and partners to improve the health and wellbeing of Sunderland residents.

“We will continue to work hard to make further improvements in our performance, and to ensure that all of our patients can consistently access high-quality care.”

Every GP in Sunderland is a member of the CCG, which plans how to spend the NHS budget by commissioning (buying) the majority of health services for the people of Sunderland. This includes the care and treatment people receive in the community, mental health services, maternity services, and in hospital.