PRIMARY CARE TRUSTS

Reviewing patients who have waited longer than 18 weeks (21st October 2009)
As set out in David Flory's Quarter 4 2008-09 report, PCTs need to understand and act upon the reasons for any unnecessary waits over 18 weeks. This guidance suggests methods for reviewing and reporting waits longer than 18 weeks in order to understand the causes of unnecessary waits, and to drive further improvements in patient experience.
Guidance

Creating a performance management framework for a minimal alcohol data set for PCTs in Cheshire and Merseyside (23rd October 2009)
This is a report on a project to develop a performance management framework which can provide a minimal dataset to be collected on a range of alcohol-related issues across the Cheshire and Merseyside sub-region.
Report

18 WEEKS PROGRAMME

SUS (Secondary Uses Service) Pilots: Sharing the learning (February 2009)
The SUS pilot and early adopter organisations have published emerging lessons as they go through the process of changing their systems to deliver a weekly submission of 18 week referral to treatment data to SUS to support the commissioning and sustained delivery of 18 weeks.
Document

COMMISSIONING

Transforming respiratory and sleep diagnostic services to deliver 18 weeks - a Good Practice Guide (9th February 2009)
This guide supports the continued delivery of low wait planned care services associated with the 18 week target and the clinical visions outlined by each of the 10 SHAs in England as part of Lord Darzi’s Next Stage Review of the NHS. Including evidence and new pathways, it aims to help commissioners understand where respiratory and sleep services fit into their local strategy for clinical care and providers by suggesting innovative ways in which these services can be improved and delivered for the benefit of patients.
Guide

Guidance on the routine collection of Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) (6th February 2009)
This document contains detailed guidance on the routine collection of Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) for elective procedures from 1 April 2009 and is intended to support providers and PCT commissioners to implement the requirement to collect PROMs contained in the standard NHS contract for acute services.
Guidance

Compact Commissioning Guidance (9th February 2009)
New implementation guidance on commissioning has been published by the Commission for the Compact in response to local authorities and other public sector bodies increasingly commissioning third sector organisations to provide pubic services. The guidance takes a four stage approach to the commissioning process. It highlights the importance of effective analysis, planning, sourcing, and monitoring and review, and explains the ways in which the Compact can be applied during each of the stages.
Guidance

Never Events Framework 2009/10 (February 2009)
Never Events are serious, largely preventable patient safety incidents that should not occur if the available preventative measures have been implemented. The National Patient Safety Agency has worked with stakeholders to co-produce this Framework. It sets out guidance for PCT commissioners on implementing the Never Events policy and builds on existing processes and mechanisms.
Framework

Securing better health for children and young people through world class commissioning: a guide to support delivery of healthy lives, brighter futures: The strategy for children and young people's health (12th February)
This guide to commissioning will support commissioners in delivering the vision set out in the accompanying child health strategy, Healthy lives, brighter futures by (a) using the world class commissioning competencies and (b) aligning the commissioning cycles across agencies.
Guide

Commissioning IAPT for the whole community: Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (6th February 2009)
This document is intended to assist commissioners (including practice-based commissioners), to deliver Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services that are effective and appropriate for the whole community, using innovative ways of meeting the needs of local people.
Document

Conference: World Class Commissioning & Benchmarking (17th February 2009)
NHS PCC and NHS Benchmarking will hold a full day event to present the outcome of the new primary medical care benchmarking product and the benchmarking of world class commissioning competencies. The event will be of interest to PCT Board Directors, Primary care leads, Primary care commissioners and WCC commissioning leads. The event will take place in London on 26th March 2009.
Information

18 WEEK PROGRAMME

SUS Pilots: Sharing the Learning (September 2008)
The Secondary Uses Service (SUS) pilot and early adopter organisations have published emerging lessons as they go through the process of changing their systems so that they can submit 18-week Referral To Treatment data to SUS. This will be in the Commissioning Data Set version 6 format to support the national SUS 18-week reporting application.
Documents

18 WEEKS PROGRAMME

Local 18 week patient experience surveys (9th September 2008)
As signalled in the Operating Framework, this letter is to update NHS chief executives with more detailed guidance on the use of PCT level surveys to measure local patient experience of 18 week pathways. The letter also includes guidance and survey template.
Document

18 WEEKS PROGRAMME

18 weeks performance sharing and choose and book appointment slots (20th August 2008)
Arrangements for 'performance sharing' for 18 weeks as set out in the Operating Framework for 2008/09 have been confirmed. This will alter the published performance of providers, and will be used in Health Care Commission performance assessments. Guidance on addressing insufficient appointment slots on Choose and Book has also been published.
Letter
Spreadsheet

18 WEEKS PROGRAMME

Direct Access Audiology Waiting Times and PTL collections (7th February 2008)

Two new collections of data on audiology services are introduced in 2008/09 in support of efforts to transform audiology services and to ensure progress on reducing waiting times for hearing aid fitting. The first monthly waiting times returns will be required in May 2008, relating to patients treated in April 2008.
Click here for Documents