Members Information

 

CBC is a not for profit company limited by guarantee.  This means that there are no share-holders and any surpluses generated by the company’s business activities are reinvested into the company for the benefit of Gateshead General Practice and to support improvements to services for Gateshead patients.

 

To apply for membership of CBC you must be in one of the following categories:

 

§  a medical professional providing primary care services in Gateshead and surrounding areas.

§  a nursing professional employed by an organisation providing primary care services in Gateshead and surrounding areas

§  employed or contracted by the Company or any subsidiary company

§  a manager employed by an organisation providing primary care services in Gateshead and surrounding areas.

§  proposed by a recognised patient representative group.

 

Membership allows members to vote in elections for the Board of the company and have a view on the running of the business and the contracts that are taken on.  Members can be nominated for Board membership if they wish to take a more active role in the management of the company.

 

The company may hold extra-ordinary general meetings at intervals and members are encouraged to attend these meetings to express their views on the company’s business.

 

Membership Benefits

 

The benefits of membership are being part of an organisation that is owned and run by local GPs and their teams and whose interests are the continuation of general practice in Gateshead.  The company promotes the benefits of local services for local patients using the skills, knowledge and experience of teams of professionals who have been providing services for Gateshead patients for many years.

 

Members and their practices benefit from participation in initiatives that support practices to work closely together, eg the Gateshead Primary Care Integration Network (Bureau project), negotiates on their behalf with other local providers / commissioners, eg providing practice funding from the local FT for practices who are housing services around AQP for anti-coagulation and being a vehicle which will bid for local services that can be delivered by member practices.

 

CBC also provides locum support for local practices via our salaried GP team which enables us to keep the costs of locum cover at reasonable levels.