In October 2014 a review of national networks and senates was undertaken and this review concluded at the end of March 2016. Clinical Networks programme resources have been reduced significantly. This will necessitate our small but dedicated support team to concentrate on very specific areas of work.
Therefore, one of the key differences for the clinical networks lies in their focus for 2016/17, which has been defined as the core NHS England clinical priority programmes. To reflect the priorities the Cardiovascular Network will now be focussing on:
- Diabetes
- Urgent and emergency care components of cardiovascular disease i.e. stroke, STEMI and vascular
- Completion of the renal Home Therapies programme
This will mean there will now be a significant change to governance and the way we conduct our quarterly meetings.
The plans and budgets for the Clinical Network are now submitted annually to NHS England for Regional Directors to review and sign off. Clinical Networks will no longer report into an oversight group; the reporting mechanism will now be quarterly update reports submitted to NHS England Directors both in the South West and South Central.
In response to these changes the Cardiovascular Steering group has now ceased. The Commissioning Advisory Group meetings for Cardiac, Stroke and Renal have also been dissolved. The Working Group for Diabetes will continue to meet to focus mainly on the key programmes of work.
We would like to thank everyone who has attended meetings in the past and for supporting the work of the network. We rely on the clinical expertise from our commissioning and clinical leads and from the many contributors who so generously give their knowledge and time. We hope to continue working with you in the future.
