THE public has a chance to shape the future of community healthcare across Surrey after a period of public engagement, to seek views about NHS-funded community health care services, got under way this week.

Everyone is invited to take part and the outcomes of the activity will help shape these services and what they offer in the future.

An initial engagement event was held in Woking on Tuesday last week, with a second to follow in Godalming on Tuesday, November 10 – with others being planned across Surrey.

Residents are also invited to express their views, opinions and suggestions through an online survey.

At the public events, there is the opportunity to meet healthcare professionals and clinical commissioning group staff.

They want to know what experiences everyone has had of community healthcare services in Surrey, and what suggestions there are for refining these in the future.

There are more than 50 different community healthcare services in the county.

They include children’s services – such as health visitors, school nursing and services for children with complex needs; and adult’s services - such as community nursing, rapid response services to keep older people out of hospital, physiotherapy, podiatry and adult rehabilitation therapies.

The current agreement to provide services, worth more than £85 million per year, ends in March 31, 2017. All six NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) in Surrey, as well as the county council, are responsible for ensuring the continuity of those services.

Public consultation for shaping future provision means considering the views of everyone – no matter from what background, ethnicity or locality – across Surrey.

Dr Ann Hennell, one of the GP heading the re-procurement, and a clinical head at NHS Guildford and Waverley CCG, said: “Our aim is to ensure the continuity of service provision across the county of Surrey – which is complex and broad ranging.

“We need to take account of the needs of our local populations, so they can be met wherever possible. We also have to consider how we can ensure the services of the future can adapt to align to the fast-evolving health care landscape.

We are in the early stages of making decisions about how these services could evolve in Surrey. It is a very exciting journey and we would like the public to be involved along the way.”

For more information on how to contribute your views, visit www.northeast hampshireandfarnhamccg.nhs.uk .