It's three months since clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) replaced primary care trusts in England, as part of the coalition's NHS shakeup. In this online discussion we'll be asking: how are they managing their responsibilities? Have there been any teething problems and have these been overcome? What are the biggest challenges they are facing? What has been the impact on patients of the introduction of CCGs?
Are GPs involved in CCGs managing to balance their workloads with new managerial duties? Dr Clare Gerada, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said recently that the difficulty of reconciling patient care with duties in their local CCGs meant it was "inevitable" that some GPs would pull out of the CCGs.
And are CCGs engaging in research or is there scope to do this more? Join our expert panel on Wednesday 17 July between noon and 2pm when we'll be discussing these issues. If you have a question you'd like to ask the panel, you can email it to healthcare@guardian.co.uk. You can can also tweet us your questions at @GdnHealthcare.
The panel includes
• Jonathan Sheffield, chief executive, National Institute for Health Research Clinical Research Network
• Mark Wilkinson, chief officer, NHS Barnsley CCG
• Jonathon Fagge, chief executive, NHS Norwich CCG
• Phil Mettam, chief officer, NHS Bassetlaw CCG
• Holly Holder, fellow in health policy, Nuffield Trust
• Michael Scott, chair of the NHS Confederation's Community Health Services Forum, also chief executive of Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust
• Robert McGough, partner in DAC Beachcroft's health commercial team, leading on the firm's approach to supporting the development of CCGs
• Victoria Bleazard, associate director of policy, research and campaigns
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• Chris Naylor, fellow, King's Fund
• Richard Vautrey, deputy chair of the British Medical Association GP committee