The deputy chairman of Kingston's new clinical commissioning group (CCG) has given himself and his colleagues the second-lowest rating possible for thinking about patients while making decisions.

Asked how “patient-centred” decisions taken at Tuesday's CCG meeting were, Dr Phil Moore gave the board a two marks out of 10 for its “compassion, empathy, and responsiveness”.

Jonathan Hildebrand, director of public health, later said that Dr Moore had given the rating after a decision about coronary care - a project the GP had been working on - was delayed.

The rating system, in which board members score themselves so frankly in a number of areas including leadership and transparency, is designed to improve the board’s relationship with the public.

Members of the public who attended the meeting were also asked to vote by filling in forms – and their scores were given extra weight.

Under the Government's health reforms GPs and clinicians on the CCGs have been given power over all major NHS commissioning decisions as part of plans to put patients in the driving seat.

Overall the meeting got mixed reviews from board members who voted:

Patient-centeredness, between two and eight out of ten.

Engagement, between four and eight.

Leadership, between two and nine.

Transparency, between six and 10.

Effectiveness, between three and eight.

Overall experience, between one and eight.

The governing board’s next meeting will be on Tuesday, July 2, at the Guildhall.

Angina project delayed

Concerns over conflicts of interest have led Kingston’s clinical commissioning group (CCG) to look again at a pilot proposal for angina care.

The plan, developed by a company launched by CCG board member Professor Mike Chester, saves the borough money and involves patients in their treatment.

Vanessa Lodge, the CCG’s board nurse member, said there were “holes” in the business case.

She said: “We are not clear yet about our policy on conflicts of interest. We have not got that in place yet.”

She said that the policy must come first so the board can make sure it acts “for the right reasons”.

Clarification will come in the next two weeks, the board was told.

According to the CCG’s current rules around conflicts of interest, Prof Chester left the room while the governing board debated the issue, and would not have voted in a decision.