DOCTOR Avi Bhatia wants people in Derbyshire to reap the benefits of major changes to the NHS.

That is why, as a leading figure in the local revamp of health services, he has been busy talking to the people who matter – the patients.

He wants them to know that health care will no longer be paid for by suited managers, sitting in offices. Instead, the cash will be distributed by groups of GPs.

And Dr Bhatia, chairman of one of those groups, has been asking those treated on the NHS where the money should be spent.

Events have been held in Long Eaton and Ilkeston where members of the public were given a list of health issues and asked to put them in priority order.

Their responses are being collated in a bid to give local people the care they want. Dr Bhatia said it was key to a new way of managing care.

He said: "We want to get an idea of what patients think, so we can use feedback to mould where we're going."

The proposed changes to the NHS were first announced by Health Secretary Andrew Lansley in 2010. He wanted to scrap local health authorities, known as primary care trusts.

Until then, the trusts had paid for and overseen all health care, from services at Royal Derby Hospital to mental health therapies.

But Mr Lansley decided the finances should instead be controlled by GP-led management groups.

The announcement led to the merger of the county's two primary care trusts, NHS Derby City and NHS Derbyshire County, but if Parliament approves Mr Lansley's proposals the merged trust will have gone altogether by April, 2013.

In its place will be five GP-led groups, each covering a geographical area of the county and each getting feedback from the GP surgeries in their area. The groups have now appointed management boards and Dr Bhatia is chairman of the Erewash one.

Dr Bhatia's group will represent 13 surgeries, including his own at Moir Medical Centre, Long Eaton.

This means it is responsible for about 100,000 patients and has a budget this financial year of £168 million.

Dr Bhatia thinks it is a good idea to divide the management of NHS services into small groups, because they can respond "to the unique needs of each area".

He said: "If you have a standardised policy across the whole NHS, it may not work for some areas as they might not have the manpower or buildings to deliver it.

"I would hope the new system doesn't lead to more red tape.

"When you're working in a relatively small group like ours, it allows a little golden nugget of information to go straight to the boardroom.

"And I'm hoping that it is this clinical input which will be where the difference lies.

"I'm not only talking about input of GPs, but also people such as practice nurses and community matrons."

Dr Bhatia's role takes up one-and-a-half days a week, leaving him free to work as a GP the rest of the time.

The group has started work on several projects, including creating individual care plans for patients with long-term health problems.

It is also starting to get GPs to give a second opinion on their colleagues' work.

He said: "There may be one GP who wants to refer a patient to hospital for an MRI scan, while another would be aware that it could be done in the community, meaning a shorter wait for the patient."

Source: Derby Telegraph (http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/Major-changes-ahead-NHS-does-mean-patients/story-14332617-detail/story.html)