Making markets work for patients: Are commissioners up for it?

On the Kings Fund Blog John Appleby comments It’s now nearly two decades since the introduction of a separation between purchasers and providers in the NHS. In that time purchasers (as they were then called) should have come a long way in grappling with an essential commissioning task: understanding and managing markets. But with PCTs scoring worst on the World Class Commissioning competency of ‘stimulating the market’ it’s clear that there is still some way to go. The question is, does the NHS really understand what a complex and difficult task this market management is going to be?

(Published May 2009)