Nations & Regions
England
Primary Care Trusts have the responsibility for commissioning the full range of health services for their local communities in England, but the means by which the commissioning function is fulfilled is developing rapidly. Specific guidance on commissioning for long-term conditions is anticipated from the Department of Health in late January 2007, but many of the key changes in the way that commissioning is carried out are already well underway.
Practice-based commissioning, which is intended to secure the engagement of primary care professionals in commissioning decisions is being implemented across the country. It is hoped that the knowledge of patient needs possessed by frontline clinicians will be translated into improvements in services.
The significance of involving patients, carers and the local community even more directly in commissioning decisions is also increasingly being recognised. In the long term, there may be a great deal of scope for consultation with the public, and greater corresponding obligations on Primary Care Trusts to ensure that they reflect the wishes of their population in making commissioning decisions.
The evolution of commissioning in England has the potential to greatly affect service delivery, and our partnership looks forward to working alongside the health service to secure a positive future for people with long-term conditions.
Further information may be found through the following organisations:
National Association of Primary Care
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
NHS Integrated Service Improvement Programme
Recommended Reading
Supporting People with Long Term Conditi... - The Department of Health's guide to Supporting People with Long Term Conditions to Self-Care. read more »
Clinicans, services and commissioning in... - Report of a joint working party of the Royal College of Physicians of London, the Royal College of General Practitioners and the NHS Alliance outlining the need for coordinated management programmes. As the population ages, healthcare will focus increasingly on the management of long-term condi... read more »
The White Paper - Our health, our care, ... - In the White Paper “Our health, our care, our say” (DH, January 2006) , the Department of Health outline a vision to provide the public with a good quality health and social care in the community. The aim of the current NHS plan is to enable the NHS to become more responsive to the need of the pat... read more »
10 steps to Practice Based Commissioning - read more »
Health reform in England: update and com... - This document sets out the detailed framework outlining key changes designed to strengthen commissioning and ensure commissioning drives health reform, improved health and healthcare, and improved financial health for the NHS. read more »
Commissioning Framework for Health and W... - The Department of Health has published its Commissioning Framework for Health and Well Being. This cites the Commissioning Toolkit for Long Term Conditions as a useful tool for commissioners and focuses upon: - Putting people at the centre of commissioning - Understanding the needs of popula... read more »
The NHS in England: The Operating Framew... - This document sets out the specific business and financial arrangements for the NHS for 2007/08. As an update to the 2006/07 operating framework, it describes, amongst other things, the delivery priorities, the payment by results and tariff details and expectations on the development of commissionin... read more »
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