Trust holds final annual meeting

ALMOST a decade of change, challenges and achievements will be discussed at the final annual meeting of NHS Oldham tomorrow.

The public is invited to the meeting at Hotel Smokies Park, where health bosses will look back on the organisation’s achievements and launch the annual health report.

It will be the last meeting of its kind for NHS Oldham, now part of a cluster of primary care trusts named NHS Greater Manchester.

In 2013, NHS Oldham will close down and decisions about how to spend around £375 million will be taken by local GPs, working with other clinicians.

In the past nine years, deaths from circulatory disease have been reduced by 45 per cent, teen pregnancies cut by 60 per cent and the trust has helped almost 17,000 people to quit smoking. Also during that time, five new health centres have been built in the borough.

Shauna Dixon, locality director of NHS Oldham, said: “There have been many challenges that we have met and many still exist, but we have made many improvements across Oldham.

“We believe we have created a solid foundation for the Oldham NHS Clinical Commissioning Group to lead the commissioning of health care.”

The meeting is open to everyone, with a buffet from 5.45pm and the meeting beginning at 6.30pm.