AN Aldershot GP is the new leader for the planning and funding of health services in North East Hampshire and Farnham.

Dr Peter Bibawy was elected as clinical chairman of NHS North East Hampshire and Farnham Clinical Commissioning Group in a vote by the area’s GPs.

He will play a crucial role in arranging health services provided to the area’s 225,000 registered patients, as well as working across health systems stretching across Hampshire, Surrey and into Berkshire.

Dr Bibawy has been a leading member of the clinical commissioning group since it was launched in 2013, serving as medical director and more recently as the acting clinical chairman.

He qualified as a GP in 1995 and joined his practice, The Cambridge Practice at Aldershot Centre for Health, in 2007.

Dr Bibawy said: “I’m privileged to have been elected as clinical chairman of the clinical commissioning group and I’m extremely grateful to those who have put their trust in me.

“In my time here I have been lucky enough to have been involved in some very exciting changes to the way that services are planned and delivered, both locally and across wider systems, with both health and social care colleagues.

“I look forward to continuing to work with local people and partners to ensure our organisations are not just delivering the best possible results for our populations but that they are also great places to work.”

Maggie MacIsaac, chief executive of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight clinical commissioning group partnership, congratulated Dr Bibawy who, she added, “has already contributed a great deal to local healthcare transformation”.