THE work of local patient groups will be celebrated at a special event next month.

Bradford’s NHS clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are inviting people to mark National Patient Participation Group Awareness Week, which runs from June 1 to June 6, by sharing ideas at an event to bring together all of the local patient group networks and community groups.

David Richardson, lay member for patient and public involvement at Bradford Districts CCG, said : “This is a great way for us to celebrate how far patient engagement has come in Bradford, and how much has been achieved in the last two years.

“This is a priority area for us and is firmly on our agenda. We are keen to hear people’s views on how we can get more people involved in the way their health services are organised and run. Getting patients involved, and us learning from their experiences, can really help improve the quality of healthcare services.”

He said both CCGs were committed to involving local people in helping to shape health services and sharing their views, so they can really learn from their experiences - both good and bad.

The idea it is to encourage patient and community groups to share their best ways of working, update groups about how people can be more involved in the work of CCGs and encourage more people to join a group at their own GP practice.

The event will be on Wednesday, June 1 at Carlisle Business Centre in Manningham from noon to 2.30pm

Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust, health champions, practices, services and community organisations will all be there.

Earlier this year the CCGs set up a People’s Board to provide a sounding board for their policy and service design ideas. The pilot initiative is designed to build on strong foundations of patient and public involvement already in place at the CCGs.

There are now 18 people from across Bradford on that board providing assurance and advice on the development of relevant CCG programmes of work.

The group will also be supporting the delivery of the CCGs’ Five Year Forward View plan, which includes proposals to transform healthcare services and deliver care closer to people’s homes.

To book a place at the event on June 1, visit ppgweek2016.eventbrite.co.uk, call 07931 561448 or email engage@bradford.nhs.uk.