The organisation that plans, designs and pays for our NHS service has been awarded an ‘outstanding’ rating.

East and North Herts Clinical Commissioning Group, which monitors health services for 597,000 people in Hertfordshire, was granted the rating following the latest national assessments for 2018-19.

This is the third year in a row that East and North Herts CCG have been rated 'outstanding', becoming one of nine CCGs in the UK to repeat this feat in consecutive years.

The group were singled out for their commitment to partnership working and the leadership role it plays with other NHS organisations across Hertfordshire, including Stevenage and Welwyn Garden City.

The CCG is made up of local GPs and health professionals, working together with other clinicians and patients, to decide how the East and North Herts NHS budget of £724m should be spent.

Dr Prag Moodley, Chair of East and North Herts CCG is "very proud" of the organisation's consistent succcess.

He said: "It's an achievement that I would like to publicly thank our team, our patient volunteers, GPs and practice staff for."

The CCG's key achievments this year include supporting extra routine and urgent appointments for patients at GP practices and coping with winter pressure on emergency care services.

Further successes include supporting new moves for GP practices, trialling a new autism diagnosis, more education for patients with Type 2 diabetes and expanding the services avaliable to patients in GP surgeries.

Beverly Flowers, chief executive of East and North Herts CCG, said: "It is a pleasure to lead an organisation which is committed to improving care for the patients it serves."

"None of what we do would be possible without the tremendous commitment of health and care staff. Again and again, our GPs and staff across the NHS rise to the challenge and deliver great care for their patients.

"As a CCG we are proud to be rated as 'outstanding' again and we will continue to strive to ensure all our patients have the best quality care."

Across England, NHS, social care organisations and local councils are working together more closely to deliver more effective, joined-up and affordable services as part of Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (STPs).