New Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley health group in first public meeting

New Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley health group head backs major NHS changes

12:45pm Friday 3rd May 2013 in News By Tim MacFarlan, 

Bexley and north Kent reporter

Dr Baskhar Bora

DOCTOR Baskhar Bora is proud to be a jobbing GP but the Greenhithe physician now has a lot more on his plate than just treating patients.

Full story: News Shopper

DOCTOR Baskhar Bora is proud to be a jobbing GP but the Greenhithe physician now has a lot more on his plate than just treating patients.

Doctor Bora is head of the new NHS Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) which on April 1 assumed responsibility for 249,000 patients from the axed primary care trust and a £279m budget.

The move to abolish PCTs and put doctors in charge of the majority of commissioning health services and almost 70 per cent of the NHS budget, has proved contentious.

Some argue it is a risky experiment which will take GPs away from treating
patients and leave them bogged down in the sort of bureaucracy which bedevilled PCTs.

Speaking following the CCG's first public meeting at the White Oak Indoor Bowls Centre in Swanley on April 30, Elmdene Surgery GP Dr Bora is confident the changes will be better for NHS users.

The new CCG members.

He told News Shopper: "I got into medicine because I like treating patients and seeing patients.
"I enjoy that and I enjoy my job.

"With this role I can have a bigger influence not just on my patients but in the whole locality.

"As a commissioner I will be able to commission services for which people can be seen in a few weeks instead of what used to be almost a year.

"That is one example where I can make a difference."
Doctor Bora says the NHS is something Britons should be proud of but that is needs to change in order to survive.

He said: "People don’t appreciate the health service until they go to other countries but the NHS in its present state cannot survive unless we improve the quality of clinical care.

"What we are trying to do is make sure that we preserve the NHS the way it is."
Dr Bora lists his priorities as reducing elective admissions, tackling inequalities in care provision across Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley and improving end of life care.

The body he heads is made up of all the area’s 36 GP practices represented by a 13-strong governing body including six elected GPs, a chief nurse, a hospital medical specialist, two members of the public and three health managers.

Dr Bora added: "The main difference is GPs are now accountable.
"It is much more clinically focused and we make sure the patient’s quality of care is utmost."