You will be aware that we anticipated launching a public consultation around the first phase of the Path to Excellence programme during May 2017.
We will now need to delay the public consultation until after the general election which is due to be held on Thursday 8th June 2017 as we are now formally in the pre-election period (known as purdah).
Like all public bodies we are required to comply with the pre-election period guidance issued by the Cabinet Office.
We are now working to update our timeline as quickly as possible, and we would anticipate starting as soon as we can after the outcome of the general election is known and the purdah restrictions are formally lifted by the Cabinet Office post-election when a new government is formed.
We will give a minimum of two weeks’ notice to the public and have a wide range of advance publicity in order to ensure people are aware of launch events and all the many different ways and opportunities there will be to find out more about the issues, to consider the information being presented and to feedback views.
We will also include additional weeks in the consultation period to take account of summer holidays.
The Path to Excellence is a five-year programme to improve healthcare across South Tyneside and Sunderland and is part of the region’s sustainability and transformation plans.
It has been set up to secure the future of local NHS services and to identify new and innovative ways of delivering high quality, joined up, sustainable care that will benefit our population both now and in the future.
In the meantime we will continue to engage with staff, elected members and other partners as this work develops.
You can keep involved in this work by:
- By visiting our website: www.pathtoexcellence.org.uk
- By following us on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nhsexcellence/
- By following us on Twitter: @NHSexcellence
Please check the site for new updates as we will add more information as it becomes available.
For more information please contact:
Emma Taylor – Senior Communications Officer