Change is underway in the way in which health services are planned and commissioned across Essex with the launch in the last week of the NHS Essex Integrated Care Board.
The aim of the new organisation is to make NHS services better in Essex. I recently met up with Tom Abell, who is the Chief Executive of the new ICB, to find out what all this means for health services in Brentwood and Ongar. Tom knows our Brentwood and Ongar health services very well, after spending much of his career in the area.
He has admitted standards in some areas have been too low and people still struggle to access the care they need when they need it. He’s also aware service quality is not as consistently good as it could be and the response to the need for improved services and infrastructure has not been effective.
However, I’m pleased to hear our community hospital in Brentwood could be used more to provide important diagnostic and consultant appointments, as is St Margaret’s in Epping.
I know the NHS Essex ICB wants to make sure people are diagnosed and treated sooner, and to ensure it intervenes in a timely way when improvement is needed.
If you have any thoughts on what would improve the quality and standard of care you receive, and where you would prefer to go for tests and treatment, do get in touch with me so I can share your views with the new ICB.
Photo: Alex Burghart MP with Tom Abell
