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 100,000 patients. The company is run by Dr Shikha Pitalia, 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 SSP Health currently manages 36 GP surgeries aligned to 29 practices across 10 NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups in Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire, Merseyside and Cumbria. The company employs around 400 people and has a head office in Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan. It cares for approximately 146,000 patients. SSP Health practice sites include: ; ; , Wigan; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and . All SSP practices inspected by the Care Quality Commission 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 Visting 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 and sits on the Healthier Wigan Partnership Board. Healthier Wigan is a partnership of , Wigan Council Wigan Council, , , and GP practices from across the borough 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. Here is a list of the awards won by SSP Health and Drs Shikha and Sanjay Pitalia: 2019: Dr Shikha Pitalia – Business Award – Inspiring Women North West England and Wales; 2019: Dr Shikha Pitalia – Listed at No.54 in the Manchester Power 100; 2017: Dr Sanjay Pitalia – Times of India/ICICI – International Entrepreneur Award; 2015: SSP Health – Primary Care Provider – Clinical Services – LaingBuisson Awards; 2015: SSP Health – Finalist Health Service Journal awards – Clinical Leadership; 2015: Dr Shikha Pitalia – Finalist The General Practice Awards – Clinical Team of the Year; 2015: British Indian Awards – Family Business of the Year Award; 2014: Drs Sanjay and Shikha Pitalia – English Asian Business Awards – Lifetime Achievement Award; 2014: Dr Shikha Pitalia led commissioning group – Finalist HSJ awards – Acute Visiting Service : Patient Safety and Care; 2009/10: Dr Shikha Pitalia – Excellence in Leadership – Directorate of Strategic Development, St Helens; 2009: Dr Shikha Pitalia – Acute Visiting Service – NHS Live National Health and Social Care Award; 2009: SSP Health – Royal College of General Practitioners – Enterprise Award; 2008: Dr Shikha Pitalia – RCGP GP of the Year; 2007: Dr Shikha Pitalia – NHS Alliance – Acute Visiting Service – Practice-Based Commissioning Award; 2007: Dr Shikha Pitalia led commissioning group – Highly Commended HSJ awards – Acute Visiting Service – Improving Patient Access
