Making commissioning effective in the reformed NHS in England

Successive Department of Health (DH) initiatives have sought to achieve widespread, sustained service reconfiguration in the NHS, aiming to deliver patient-centred services closer to where people live and work. This has proven to be extremely challenging, and the DH has concluded that fundamental reforms to NHS commissioning are necessary to drive change. Effective commissioning will assure service users and tax payers that those who configure and contract health services on their behalf are doing so in a manner that achieves the best possible health outcomes and provides value for money. But what is effective commissioning: what does it look like? This is the question the Health Policy Forum recently asked the Health Services Management Centre and the King’s Fund to investigate. The resulting report 'Making commissioning effective in the reformed NHS in England' will enable commissioners to benchmark and help Strategic Health Authorities and others to performance manage commissioners. We believe it constitutes a useful contribution to the ongoing debate on NHS reform.

(Published December 06, 54 pages)

Health Inequalities Intervention Tool

The Health Inequalities Intervention Tool is designed to support Spearhead Primary Care Trusts with their Local Delivery Planning and commissioning. It is designed to help achieve the Department of Health (DH) Public Service Agreement (PSA) target for life expectancy.

The DH PSA target on life expectancy aims to 'by 2010 reduce by at least 10% the gap between the Spearhead areas and the population as a whole'. This tool provides information on the following:

• Life expectancy in Spearhead local authorities
• The gap in life expectancy between the Spearhead local authorities and England
• A breakdown of the causes of the life expectancy gap by disease type and age

(Published 05/01/07)

Commissioning toolkit for community based eye care

This DH document provides PCTs and practice based commissioners with practical advice on commissioning community based eye care services. It draws on evidence that has emerged from the evaluated pilot pathways (glaucoma; age-related macular degeneration (AMD); low vision) that were set up following the work of the Eye Care Services Steering Group. It also fits within the wider commissioning framework.

(Published 17/01/07 2007, 60 pages)

GP reforms improve NHS referrals

Early examples suggest commissioning changes could cut 2.5 million pointless GP referrals - NHS meets target for rolling out reforms. GPs are sending fewer patients to hospital for unnecessary appointments following Government reforms giving practices a greater say in how the NHS provides and buys services for patients. Reports from the NHS, published for the first time today, show that GP practices in some parts of the country are cutting the number of patients they refer to consultants by a quarter by taking direct control of commissioning decisions.

(Published 26/01/07)

Primary Medical Services Contracts - A guide for potential contractors

One of the key objectives set out in the White Paper Our health, our care, our say is to secure better access to general practice. In some places this will mean encouraging or allowing new providers, including social enterprises or commercial companies, to offer services to registered patients alongside traditional general practice. This guide is aimed at these new providers, or potential primary medical services contractors.

(Published November 2006, 37 pages)

Health policy: a new look at NHS commissioning

Joan Higgins argues that the way in which commissioning is being developed in the NHS raises serious questions. The current approach is unlikely to activate real change. Geographical restrictions on commissioning should be reconsidered.

BMJ, 2007, vol. 334, no. 7583, p. 22-24

Implementing PBC

The health department has finally released further guidance on practice based commissioning; the document outlines the role that PCTs should be taking with regard to commissioning.

Practice Management 2007, vol. 17, no.1, p. 10-11

The NHS Contracts for 2007/08

These documents support the NHS operating framework for 2007-08.

The NHS contract for acute hospital services will cover agreements between PCTs and providers for the delivery of acute hospital based care.

(Published December 2006, 73 pages)

National Partnership Agreement: commissioning of health services for prisoners

The National Partnership Agreement is an over-arching agreement between the Secretary of State for Health and the Home Secretary for and on behalf of Her Majesty’s Prison Service. It is intended to underpin and complement the local partnership arrangements between NHS Primary Care Trusts and public sector prisons within the Prison Service. This is an updated version of the National Partnership Agreement issued in 2003. This document is intended to cover accountability and commissioning for health services for prisoners from April 2006, when transfer of commissioning responsibility for services from HMPS to NHS. Primary Care Trusts will be complete. It is intended that this document will be regularly reviewed and revised as appropriate.

(Published 15/01/07, 18 pages)

Websites of interest

Practice Based Commissioning- NLH Health Management Specialist Library

PCTs as Commissioners- NLH Health Management Specialist Library