Clinical Commissioning Groups

Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS, the White Paper published by the Government earlier this year, set out a vision for the NHS which will change the way the NHS works to offer patients outcomes that are among the best in the world. It plans to do this by providing people with more information about their treatment options and a greater say in their health and care so that ‘no decision about me, without me’ becomes the norm. 

The White Paper and its accompanying documents Liberating the NHS: Commissioning for Patients and Increasing democratic legitimacy in health, propose to give clinical commissioning groups responsibility for improving the population's health. It offers them the power to do this by moving commissioning and resource allocation decisions as close to the patient as possible on the basis that clinicians are best placed to understand local health needs. 

Part of this vision is that consortia will be given freedom and responsibility for commissioning care for their local communities. Subject to the outcomes of consultation on the Government’s White Paper and parlimentary approval, over the next two years clinicians will take an increasing role in allocating NHS resources. By April 2013 clinical commissioning groups will be accountable to their local communities and the NHS Commissioning Board for most NHS commissioning.

The White Paper however, makes it clear that it is for practices to decide how they organise themselves into clinical commissioning groups and we are keen to ensure that this happens in this region.

Clinicians have been encouraged to come together as groups in shadow form as soon as possible, building on practice-based commissioning groups where practices wish.

On 21 October 2010, Andrew Lansley, Secretary of State for Health announced a ‘pathfinder’ programme aimed to identify and support groups of GP practices who are keen to take on the new commissioning role.

Specifically the programme will:

• identify and support groups of practices that are keen to make faster progress under existing arrangements, and can demonstrate their capacity and capability to take on additional responsibility for commissioning services;
• enable GPs, working with other health and care professionals, to test different design concepts for GP consortia and identify any issues and areas of learning early so that these can be shared more widely;
• create learning networks across the country to ensure that experience and best practice are spread and that pathfinders support other local groups that are less developed, and
• involve front line clinicians more in delivering improved quality and productivity to ensure that the NHS continues to provide high quality care to all patients