Media Release 17 March 2020 Discussion events about mid and south Essex CCGs’ future cancelled Following the Government’s latest guidance, the five NHS clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in mid and south Essex have taken the decision to cancel public events where they had hoped to discuss the future of local NHS planning with residents. A spokesperson for the five CCGs said: “Our overriding priority is, as it has always been, the safety of people living in our area. We are very sorry that we cannot offer people in Braintree and Maldon a chance to share their views and ask questions face-to-face as we had hoped. We really would still like local people’s input on the plans, and there are ways you can do this online.” The NHS Long Term Plan sets out a timeline for a single organisation to be planning and buying NHS care across larger areas. The CCG had arranged three events in the south of the county and three more in the local authority areas of mid Essex where residents could have their say about proposals for a possible merger between the five organisations. Two of the events, for south east Essex and Chelmsford residents, have already been held, but all those yet to happen have been cancelled to support residents’ “social distancing”. Events now cancelled were due to be held in: • Grays and Thurrock this evening • Braintree District this Thursday (17 March) • Pitsea, Basildon and Brentwood next Monday (23 March) • Maldon District next Wednesday (25 March). In light of the current situation surrounding Covid-19 (novel coronavirus), the two drop-in events will not now go ahead. You can find out more about the proposals for the five CCGs to come together on each of the CCG websites and share your views through a feedback questionnaire before the deadline on 5 April 2020. You can find the survey at surveymonkey.net/r/midandsouthessexccgs. Any questions about the plans and requests for information in a different format can be emailed to [email protected] or by telephoning your local CCGs. ENDS Issued by the Communications and Engagement team, NHS Mid Essex Clinical Commissioning Group Telephone: 01245 459381, email: [email protected] www.midessexccg.nhs.uk Follow us: @MidEssexCCG Notes to editor: • Printed copies of the discussion document and a feedback survey are available on request by emailing [email protected] or telephoning your local CCG. They can be downloaded from the CCGs’ website, which also give details of how to share your views online. The links are: o https://basildonandbrentwoodccg.nhs.uk/news-events/1043-join-the-discussion- on-proposals-to-change-the-way-you-local-nhs-works-together o https://castlepointandrochfordccg.nhs.uk/news-a-events/658-discussion-ccg- proposals o midessexccg.nhs.uk/get-involved/public-consultations/working-together-for-mid- and-south-essex-february-2020 o https://southendccg.nhs.uk/news-events/544-discussion-ccg-proposals o https://www.thurrockccg.nhs.uk/get-involved/working-together-for-mid-and- south-essex • A short film is available at www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI7HHoMAiEA to explain the proposals. • The NHS Long Term Plan sets out a vision for more integration across our area’s health and care system, and also talks about developing “Integrated Care Systems” with one organisation responsible for planning NHS services across the whole of mid and south Essex. More details are online at www.longtermplan.nhs.uk/ • Between them, the five mid and south Essex CCGs plan, buy and monitor most local healthcare for the 1.2m residents in the Boroughs of Brentwood, Castle Point, Southend and Thurrock, the City of Chelmsford and the Districts of Basildon, Braintree, Maldon and Rochford. They are part of the Mid and South Essex Health and Care Partnership. Issued by the Communications and Engagement team, NHS Mid Essex Clinical Commissioning Group Telephone: 01245 459381, email: [email protected] www.midessexccg.nhs.uk Follow us: @MidEssexCCG .