Health Management and Policy Alert

The changing face of clinical commissioning

NHS Clinical Commissioners -
This report is based on interviews with leaders from nine CCGs in England, highlighting the work that is taking place across the country to drive through innovations and improvements across health and social care – often in partnership with other organisations. It argues that the perspective brought by clinical commissioners – the clinical expertise, collaborative working with provider colleagues, and an understanding of the population’s needs in the system in which they operate – are essential components to developing integrated services that are fit for purpose and get the best value for each NHS pound.

• Report
• NHS Clinical Commissioners - news

Working well together: evidence and tools to enable co-production in mental health commissioning

Royal College of Psychiatrists -
This resource was commissioned by NHS England to support delivery of the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health and the NHS Long Term Plan. This document aims to improve local strategic decisions about, and the provision of, current and future mental health services for children, young people, adults and older adults. This includes people who are not in contact with mental health services, because of existing barriers to access or for other reasons. This document also talks about co-production with people who are in at-risk populations.

• Guidance
• Royal College of Psychiatrists - publications

A summary of the Network Contract Directed Enhanced Service (DES) 2019/20

Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee -

At the end of January 2019, NHS England published a five-year framework for GP services agreed. One of the major changes in the contract is the introduction of the Network Contract as a Directed Enhanced Service (DES). This will enable general practice to take a leading role in every primary care network It goes live on 1st July 2019. The briefing highlights aspects of relevance to local pharmaceutical committees and community pharmacy contractors.

• Briefing
• More detail

Please procure responsibly: the state of public service commissioning

Reform - 

By examining the complex systems used by central government and local councils to procure public services, the report explains how public services are delivered and by who. It identifies several key areas where weak or underperforming elements in the commissioning cycle have led to failings in the procurement of public services and suggests potential solutions to some of these challenges.

• Report
• More detail

Urgent dental care: evidence review

Public Health England -
In 2016 NHS England recommended that urgent dental care should be transformed in line with the transformation of urgent and emergency care services more generally, and that a commissioning standard was needed. This rapid literature review on urgent dental care provides evidence to inform the development of the commissioning standard for urgent dental care services and identifies research gaps.

• Guidance
• Public Health England - publications

The future of global health procurement: issues around pricing transparency

Office of Health Economics -
This research paper focuses on the role that price transparency may play in the efficient and effective procurement of medicines by Middle and Low Income Countries. It discusses whether making prices publicly available make procurement more efficient and cost-effective medicines more accessible. The paper concludes that transparency of the procurement process significantly lowers costs by encouraging bidders.

• Report
• Office of Health Economics - press release

Clinical commissioning groups

Public Accounts Committee -
This report looks at changes to the structure of NHS commissioning organisations. It describes how the Long Term Plan sets out the intention for Integrated Care Systems to cover the whole of England by 2021, resulting in a reduction in the number of Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). It finds that many CCGs are currently underperforming which the report concludes will need to improve as they take on the responsibility for commissioning services across larger populations. The report also concludes that getting the commissioning structures right will be an important part of delivering the NHS Long Term Plan.

• Report
• Public Accounts Committee - news

Best practice update on conflicts of interest management: call to action for CCGs February 2019

NHS England - 

This document aims to support clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to identify and manage conflicts of interest. This guidance is a practical toolkit whcih includes templates and case studies to support CCGs with conflicts of interest management.

• Guidance
• More detail

NHS operational planning and contracting guidance 2019/20

NHS England - 

This full planning guidance replaces the preparatory guidance published in December 2018 and covers system planning, the financial settlement, full operational plan requirements, and the process and timescales around the submission of plans. It is being published along with five-year indicative clinical commissioning group (CCG) allocations.

• Guidance
• More detail

A review of the role and costs of clinical commissioning groups

National Audit Office -
This review sets out: changes to the commissioning landscape before CCGs were established; the role, running costs and performance of CCGs; and the changing commissioning landscape and the future role of CCGs.

• Report
• National Audit Office - publications