In 2005 the Government of the day set about reforming the health service . They wanted to improve the quality of care and access to care. There where two strands to these reforms giving more "power" to GP Practices to influence how care was delivered and opening the market up for Hospitals bringing in independent providers ( ISTC independent sector treatment centres).

On the management side Primary Care Trusts (PCT) which largely had been formed from Primary Care Groups and prior to that District Health authorities, where to be amalgamated into larger PCT’s thus saving on management costs.

General Practice was expected to become involved in the reforming "pathways" of care to improve both patient experience and of course timely access and quality. As a result of this the North Hampshire General Practice community came together in 2006 and formed a group to take these reforms forward . Calleva Medical was the product of much work to determine the best model for delivering this complex agenda.

With the arrival of the coalition Government the pace of change has increased dramatically. With our current organization we are very well placed to take up the new challenge. Indeed we have been awarded Pathfinder status by the Secretary of State in recognition of the work already undertaken and that planned for the future.

Our work plan continues with the main thrust of quality care in the most appropriate setting. This "easy" sentence hides an enormous challenge to all health and allied professionals plus the voluntary sector to bring about the necessary reforms.