Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Practice based commissioning: implementation monitoring
The Department is publishing information that it collects from SHAs to monitor progress towards universal coverage and practice take-up of incentive payments. This information is collected on a monthly basis and will be published once figures have been verified. Latest data from 31st March 2007 shows all PCTs had achieved universal coverage by December 2006, practice uptake is at 96%.
February. (Published April 2007)
Primary Care Service Frameworks
PCC has published four Primary Care Service Frameworks: Long Term Conditions, Support for Self Care, Sexual Health and Obesity. Each Primary Care Service Framework is a generic, comprehensive and enhanced service specification for PCT commissioners and Practice Based Commissioners for 2007/08. Each Primary Care Service Framework has been developed in the context of the Commissioning Framework, White Paper implementation, key national priorities and targets, and delivery mechanisms of Practice Based Commissioning.
Patient mobility: advice to local healthcare commissioners on handling requests for hospital care in other European countries
The purpose of this guidance is to help local healthcare commissioners throughout the UK to handle requests from the public to go to certain other European countries for treatment which in the UK is provided in hospitals. It reminds commissioners of the arrangements that already exist for handling such requests and explains the implications of recent rulings by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in the Watts and other related cases. It advises commissioners that they must have systems in place for handling requests to go abroad for treatment.
(April 2007)
Demand Management: referral from primary to secondary care
The NLH Health Management Specialist Library have produced this page to support demand management. The NHS Operating Framework 2006/7 includes an expectation for PCTs to have plans in place for the management of demand in three key areas: practice-based commissioning, provisions in contracts and monitoring arrangements.
Improving the quality and outcomes for services to children and young people through effective commissioning
This self-assessment tool is designed to assist PCTs and their partners in assessing their knowledge and capability to commission children's and young people's services. It reflects the importance of effective partnerships in commissioning the integrated services, which are fundamental to the improved outcomes of services for children and young people. (Published April 2007, 16 pages)
Invitation to apply for lay membership of NICE's Commissioning Programme Steering Group
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is producing a series of web-based Commissioning Guides to help the NHS in England effectively commission the best care for patients. NICE believes it important to involve patients and the public in the development of these guides, and is seeking applications from organisations representing the interests of patients, carers and the wider public for the Commissioning Programme’s Steering Group.
Study on contracts for GPs' services
The National Audit Office is planning to undertake a study on the new contracts for GPs. This is the second in a series of studies on Pay Modernisation in the NHS. The study aims to address the question: 'Do the current contracts for GPs' services offer good value for money?'.
Practice-based commissioning: are there lessons from fundholding?
Wynn Jones and Lakasing discuss how responding to PBC, enhanced service bids and alternative provider medical services (APMS) is proving difficult for practices.
British Journal of General Practice, 2007, vol. 57 (537) p. 328-9
Consultation: Commissioning framework
This Consultation highlights issues of the Commissioning framework for health and well-being that are of particular relevance to primary care trusts (PCTs) and invites the comments of NHS Confederation members on the key issues raised in the document.
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)
Other Documents or Websites of Interest
Commissioning Toolkit for Long Term Conditions
Department for Health: Detailed questions and answers on Practice based commissioning: practical implementations
National Event: Implementing Care Closer to Home - Providing Convenient Quality Care for Patients
Practice-based Commissioning; Implementation examples by location
Practice-based Commissioning; Implementation examples by topic
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Intelligent Practice: understanding the information needs of GP commissioners
For the first time, the information requirements for commissioning GPs have been identified. The Intelligent Practice, the fourth report in the independent Intelligent Board series, proposes a basic set of criteria as the information necessary to the running of a successful practice. The report's steering group, all practising GPs, unanimously agreed that practice-based commissioning is the key to the modernisation of the NHS. Effective commissioning depends on effective information. GP commissioners are not receiving the information they need to ensure that their local populations receive the best quality health services. This report is a practical guide for GPs and PCTs. It sets out two frameworks of minimum information requirements: one for every GP and another more detailed one for lead commissioners.
(Published February 2007, 18 pages)
Commissioning framework for health and well-being
Commissioning for health and well-being means involving the local community to provide services that meet their needs, beyond just treating them when they are ill, but also keeping them healthy and independent. This framework builds on the White Paper Our health, our care, our say, which promised to help people stay healthy and independent, to give people choice in their care services, to deliver services closer to home and to tackle inequalities. This framework is about action, with a particular focus on partnership. It is for everyone who can contribute to promoting physical and mental health and well-being, including the business community, government regional offices and the third sector.
(Published March 2007, 100 pages)
CRC Commissioning services to reduce drug related deaths
Over the last ten years, there has been increasing concern at the rising numbers of preventable drug related deaths. Many drug-related deaths can be prevented by commissioning and providing a baseline of quality services that are evidence-based and responsive to local need. The aim is to provide treatment through integrated care pathways across all four treatment tiers that are as seamless as possible, as indicated in Models of care (NTA 2002). The establishment of effective interfaces between services across all tiers of service provision requires communication and collaboration between services. Central to this are joint commissioning of services, common assessment /referral protocols that are appropriate to each tier and the establishment of robust service level agreements.
(Published February 2007, 12 pages)
Operating framework 2007/8- King’s Fund Briefing
This King’s Fund Briefing discusses the Department of Health second ‘operating framework’, The NHS in England: The operating framework for 2007/08 (Department of Health 2006), which provides a set of rules and guidance for NHS organisations in England for the year ahead. Aimed primarily at managers and clinical staff, the operating framework for 2007/8 is the latest in a series of explanatory documents that aim to explain the purpose of NHS reforms and add detail on how those reforms should be carried out.
DH Operating Framework
Commissioning conscious sedation services in primary dental care
This guidance provides advice on strategic commissioning of sedation services, together with advice on some transitional issues where PCTs have sought clarification of existing guidance. Previous guidance on sedation services has focused on transitional issues associated with the new contractual arrangements from 1 April 2006. This guidance addresses strategic commissioning issues that have previously been covered only by more general guidance on specialist dental services.
(Published February 2007, 13 pages)
New model contract threatens survival, foundations warn
Commissioners will not have to pay for any type of hospital treatment they have not authorised, or for activity which exceeds agreed limits, under the new model contract. The final contract, published on Friday, makes no concessions to foundation trusts' fears that it threatens their survival. Primary care leaders have welcomed it as a 'necessary rebalancing' between commissioners and providers.
Access to the Health service journal requires self registration
So where are the alternative providers in primary care?
PCTs can now commission primary medical care services from a range of different providers. Yet a recent study by the Kings Fund reveals that the volume of alternative types of provider in primary care remains small and the use of APMS contracts limited.
British Journal of Health Care Management, 2007, vol. 13, no. 2 p. 43-46 (Available via your local NHS Library)
Developing service provision for patients in primary care.
This article outlines the government's changes to the way that primary and community health services will be commissioned and provided. It also discusses the opportunities that exist for nurses to lead and develop services for the benefit of patients in the implementation of changes.
Nursing Standard, 2007, vol. 21, no. 23, p. 43-48 (available via your local NHS Library)
PCT futures : faster, stronger, better.
In December HSJ ran the PCT Futures conference in London, bringing together a wide range of speakers from government, primary care, and the independent sector. In this special report we examine some of the main themes to emerge, from the complex arguments around splitting commissioning and provision, to the role of independent providers and writing a new chapter in the troubled history of public engagement.
HSJ, 2007, vol. 117, no. 6040, p. 29-33 (available via your local NHS Library)
Cost-effectiveness of a nurse-led case management
The objective of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a nurse-led, home-based, case-management intervention (NHI) after hospital discharge in addition to usual care. In conclusion the authors do not recommend the implementation of this intervention in populations that do not consist of severely vulnerable and complex patients.
Journal of psychosomatic research, 2007, vol. 62, no. 3, p. 363-70 (available via your local NHS Library)
The Commissioning Friend for Mental Health Services
This Guide to Commissioning Mental Health Services is the second in a series of guides developed by the National Primary and Care Trust Development Programme (NatPaCT) to assist Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) and Local Authorities in the vital role leading ‘Whole System Commissioning’ of health and social care. The structure and content has also been informed by a wealth of input from the National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE) whose aim is to improve the quality of life for people of all ages who experience mental distress. This Guide has been designed to support PCTs and Local Authorities in understanding how to use their commissioning activities as a key part of improving the mental health of the communities they serve.
(Published January 2005, 162 pages)
From segregation to inclusion: Commissioning guidance on day services for people with mental health problems
This guidance is designed to assist commissioners of mental health services in the refocusing of day services for working-age adults with mental health problems into community resources that promote social inclusion and promote the role of work and gaining skills in line with current policy and legislation. This is good practice guidance for commissioners and it progresses the implementation of the developmental standards as set out in 'National Standards: Local Action'; published by the Department of Health in 2004.
(Published February 2006, 28 pages)
Practice-based Commissioning in the NHS: The implications for mental health
This paper looks at the implications of GP practices commissioning mental health services, and the risks and benefits to the patients who use the services.
(Published November 2004, 8 pages)
Choosing health: supporting the physical health needs of people with severe mental illness (commissioning framework)
This document provides best practice guidance to help PCTs plan for, design, commission and monitor services that will deliver improved physical health and well-being for people with severe mental illness. It describes appropriate leadership for a physical healthcare programme, roles and responsibilities of those involved and provides case studies.
(Published August 2006, 38 pages)
Payment by results: opportunity or threat for mental health commissioners?
Parsonage argues that payment by results represents both an opportunity and a threat for mental health commissioners. On the positive side, it offers PCTs the chance to exert more leverage in the system, for example in the planning and design of services and, where supply conditions permit, in promoting choice and contestability. On the downside, it requires them to manage more risks, particularly financial risks.
Primary Care Mental Health, 2005, vol. 3, no. 4, p. 271-273 (available via your local NHS Library)
Improving user/carer involvement in commissioning and reviewing mental health services.
Increasingly there is greater emphasis on user/carer involvement in the delivery of mental health care. There are five levels of participation from none at all to partnership and optimal involvement. A two-year pilot steering group was established by a health authority in December 2000 and criteria for independent evaluation agreed. These included the context, data collection, analysis and report, and recommendations based on the findings to increase user/carer involvement in all aspects of mental health service delivery.
Mental Health Review, 2006, vol. 11, no. 1, p. 16-2 (available via your local NHS Library)
10 High Impact Changes for Mental Heath Services
The 10 high impact changes were first launched in 2004. Now, building on the success of the original work, this guide sets 10 High Impact Changes for use across mental health services. The scope is wider but our aim of improving quality and efficiency of care for each and every service user remains the same and will continue to guide our service improvement activity through 2006 and beyond. The 10 high impact changes aim to improve quality of care but they are also about improving the efficiency of services – making the best use of resources to benefit service users. In this sense the drive to increase efficiency provides a more streamlined and effective service tailored to individual service user needs.
(Published June 2006, 57 pages)
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