NHS Cheshire and Merseyside June 2023 Blog

Chair of NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Raj Jain
Chair of NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Raj Jain

Next week will see further industrial action from junior doctors across Cheshire and Merseyside (full update below).

While the breadth and depth of what junior doctors do across the NHS means their absence will create challenges, we continue to respect the right of NHS staff to take action.

I would, however, like to put on record my thanks to service managers at every level for their continued hard work to help maintain safe levels of care and good relationships with staff.

As a result of ongoing challenges with discharging patients from hospital, Cheshire and Merseyside has been placed in Tier 1 for urgent and emergency care performance – meaning we are now able to access the highest level of national support from NHS England.

An improvement plan is now in development for delivery by both NHS Cheshire and Merseyside at a system-level and Place partners at a Local Authority level.

The recently published national Primary Care Recovery Plan is also welcomed amid relentless pressure. Although the plan focuses almost entirely on GP and pharmacy services, we will be looking to implement this system-wide including via local Primary Care Networks.

We are also looking forward to celebrating the NHS’s 75th birthday on July 5th and the first anniversary of NHS Cheshire and Merseyside on July 1st. Both are significant milestones which give us an opportunity to engage with staff and stakeholders and share our successes to date.

Raj Jain - Chair

Full June 2023 update available here