The coming year will be one of great change for the Mall in The Retail Shopping Centre. This will be due to the introduction of our patients (and our presence) to the 140,000 people who already access the Retail Shopping Park every week.

Consequently, reciprocal changes will certainly occur within the Practice, thus having a profound affect in which a General Practice provides treatment to a patient population. An example of this will be extended opening hours of the Practice - thus allowing more flexibility and ease of access for patients.

New services/providers will eventually join us at The Cockhedge Medical Centre. This concept will require the co-operation and collaboration of the pre-existing tenants of the Shopping Park.

It will also require the assistance of newly formed disciplines affiliated with the Practice. This will include the newly formed Warrington Commissioning Consortium (WCC). This organisation was recently compiled as part of the Government's modernisation agenda to improve the care for all of the patients of Warrington.

Overall, it is hoped that all of these changes affecting the Practice will have a positive impact on the treatment of our patients.

Despite this time of uncertainty and change affecting General Practice (and the NHS as a whole), the practice will aim to both provide and maintain a high standard of patient care and delivery of services. It is anticipated that we can continue to improve on these during the coming year via improved efficiency and high standards of care using skill mixing and integration. One of the tools for achieving this will be clinical governance by way of the Quality Outcome Framework (QOF).