DARLINGTON residents will be able to have their say about NHS services in the town at an event this month.

The NHS Better Health Programme is holding 12 engagement events with members of the public in February and March, to find out which services are being delivered well and where the NHS could do better.

The events are being held in clinical localities across Darlington, Country Durham and Teesside.

All are welcome to attend the event at the Dolphin Centre, in Horsemarket, from 2pm to 4pm on Thursday, February 18.

The Better Health Programme, which is managed collectively by all NHS organisations in the area, is looking at how it can provide the best possible services to its communities.

Health needs are changing and thanks to better care, people are surviving illnesses and living with conditions for much longer than they used to. This means that health services need to change too.

A consultation is expected to start in November 2016, so the public’s view are very important at this stage to help develop possible scenarios around which changes may best meet patients’ needs.

A partnership between local NHS clinical commissioning groups and foundation trusts

Jon Tomlinson, programme director for the Better Health Programme, said: “We are engaging with local people to seek their views on what NHS services are most important to them considering the pressures we recognise on the system.

"These events will allow us to share the Better Health Programme’s objectives and open up discussions on health priorities, particularly around how some hospital services can be delivered in the community to bring better outcomes to patients."

For details of events in other areas, visit eventbrite.co.uk/o/nhs-better-health-programme-9505048832