SSP Health
SSP Health is the largest provider of primary care GP services in the North West of England, one of only three such organisations in England serving more than 140,000 patients. The company is run by Dr Shikha Pitalia, MBChB MRCGP, who has been a GP in family practice since 1991, and her husband, Dr Sanjay Pitalia, also a GP. In 2002, SSP Health pioneered 'federated General Practice', which the BMA British Medical Association has described as "increasingly being viewed as a vital part of the future of general practice". SSP Health currently manages 37 GP surgeries aligned to  30 practices across 10 NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups in Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire, Merseyside and Cumbria. The company employs around 500 people and has a head office in Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan. It cares for approximately 150,000 patients. SSP Health practice sites include: 3D Medical Centre, Bolton; Ashton Medical Centre, Wigan; Astley General Practice, Wigan; Beefold Medical Centre, Wigan; Bolton General Practice, Bolton; Bolton Medical Centre, Bolton; Bowery Medical Centre, Bolton; Braithwaite Road Surgery, Wigan; Bryn Street Surgery, Wigan; Claire House Surgery, Wigan; Colne Road Surgery, Burnley; Fuse Hill Medical Centre, Carlisle; Higher Folds Medical Centre, Wigan; Higher Ince Practice , Wigan; Leigh Family Practice, Wigan; Leigh Sports Village, Wigan; Lower Ince Surgery, Wigan; Lowton Surgery, Wigan; Marsh Green Medical Practice, Wigan; Nelson Street Surgery, Wigan; Newton Community Practice, St Helens; Newton Medical Centre, St Helens; Orrell Park Medical Centre, Sefton; Platt Bridge Medical Centre, Wigan; Poplar Street Surgery, Wigan; Railway Surgery, Wigan; Rawson Road, Sefton; Rivington Way Surgery, Wigan; The Height General Practice, Salford; The Pike Practice, Tameside; Upton Rocks Surgery, Halton; Warwick Road Surgery, Carlisle; Waters Edge Medical Centre, Middlewich; and Wigan Road Surgery, Wigan. All practices inspected by the Care Quality Commission while part of SSP Health have  received a rating of "Good" or "Outstanding". Since 2004, SSP Health has pioneered the role of Practice Champions to improve patient outcomes and quality of life. Each practice is required to have nominated Cancer Champion and Carer Champion. In 2006, Dr Shikha Pitalia devised an Acute Visiting Scheme for SSP Health, which won a number of awards. It was a much more efficient way to organise GP home visits. It has been used by its practices ever since and has now become a model for much of general practice in the UK. In 2009, Dr Shikha Pitalia - who is Secretary  of the British International Doctors’ Association, Wigan division, supporting education and welfare for doctors from diverse backgrounds - co-founded SSP Health Charitable Trust with Dr Sanjay Pitalia, raising funds for local, national and international health-related charities. All her income for work done for Wigan's CCG and GP Alliance goes directly into the Trust. In 2019-20, despite the COVID-19 outbreak, 23 of SSP Health's practices attained a 100% score in their Quality and Outcomes Framework . Four more practices achieved more than 99%. In May 2020, all SSP Health's practices were declared Veteran Friendly in a scheme  of accreditation which is run by the Royal College of General Practitioners. Dr Shikha Pitalia is Chair of Wigan GP Alliance and sits on the Healthier Wigan Partnership Board. Healthier Wigan is a partnership of NHS Wigan Borough Clinical Commissioning Group, Wigan Council Wigan Council, Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust, North West Boroughs Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and GP practices from across the borough (62 practices) and wider partners to improve services in Wigan and achieve better health outcomes for local people. SSP Health has won a number of awards over the  years including being named as Primary Care Provider of the Year at the 2015 UK Healthcare Awards for excellence by LaingBuisson.