The Commissioner: April 2007

Monday, April 16, 2007

Supporting practice based commissioning in 2007/08 by determining weighted capitation shares at practice level

The Department of Health has developed a simple toolkit that can be used to determine weighted capitation indicative budgets at practice level. The data files for use in the toolkit have now been updated to include 2006 data. The weighted capitation formulae are benchmark Supporting practice based commissioning in 2007/08 by determining weighted capitation shares at practice level.Welcoming social enterprise into health and social care guide to determine 'fair resource shares' and not an automatic means to set indicative budgets. As detailed in 'Practice based commissioning: Practical Implementation', practice indicative budgets in 2007/08 should be calculated on the basis of actual activity (at 2007/08 prices), current formulae for prescribing plus uplift and weighted capitation where no historic data is available.

(Published 2006, Updated March 2007)

Welcoming social enterprise into health and social care

A Department of Health resource pack which signposts people / organisations to support and guidance on setting up a social enterprise in the health and social care sector. This pack offers both those wanting to start and those already operating a social enterprise a useful gateway to important information needed to set up or expand service in the health and social care arena. This pack is also useful to commissioners who want to contract with social enterprises. The information in this pack is designed to support the development of social enterprise in England.

(Published March 2007, 37 pages.)

Payment of component 2 of the towards practice based commissioning directed enhanced service

The one-year ‘towards practice based commissioning’ directed enhanced service (TPBC DES) will end on 31 March 2007. Arrangements for the DES are set in legislation in the Statement of Financial Entitlements (SFE) (Amendment) (No. 3) Directions 2006. Payment of component 2 (C2) of the DES will depend on achievement against the objectives/targets set locally in practices’ DES plans.

(March 2007)

Maternity Matters: Choice, access and continuity of care in a safe service

Maternity Matters: choice, access and continuity of care in a safe service is published by the DH for commissioners, service providers and other organisations involved in the provision of maternity services. It builds on the maternity services commitment outlined in Our Health, Our Care, Our Say and is an important step towards meeting the maternity standard set out in the Children’s NSF.

(Published April 2007)

Information Access Toolkit: long-term neurological

The Information Access Toolkit is designed to help commissioners and providers of health and social care services to meet the information needs of people with long-term neurological conditions. The toolkit was developed over two years by the Information Access Project at the Brain and Spine Foundation, and was launched during Brain Awareness Week (12-18 March 2007) at Spinal Injury Association House in Milton Keynes.

(Published March 2007)

Increasing NHS Efficiency

As the NHS works towards achieving financial balance and meeting targets for service improvement, increasing attention is being given to ways of improving efficiency. The focus on efficiency is likely to sharpen in the period up to and after 2008 when the growth in expenditure is likely to slow following the outcome of the comprehensive spending review.

(Published February 2007)

Assessing young people for substance misuse

This NTA document has been developed for service managers and practitioners delivering specialist substance misuse services to young people under the age of 18. It describes a framework for specialist substance misuse assessment, how specialist substance misuse assessment dovetails with the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) for children and young people (DfES, 2006a) and outlines the context of undertaking an assessment of young people and care planning arrangements.

(Published February 2007, 28 pages)

Listen and learn: keys to good commissioning.

In this article the authors express their views on how the commissioning process can be held to account through patient and public involvement. Ten areas essential to effective scrutiny are outlined.

Health Service Journal, 22 March 2007, vol. 117, no. 6048, p. 18-19.

Making partnerships work

This document focuses on the role of third sector organisations as providers within health and adult social care.

(March 2007, 28 pages)

The Commissioner