COMMISSIONING

Commercial and procurement skills (November 2009)
It is vital that commissioners of children's services have access to the commercial and procurement skills needed to develop markets and procure services effectively. Every Child Matters have collated resources which signposts commissioners to online commercial and procurement tools, case studies, guidance and sources of information for skill development that have been used or recommended by other professionals working in this field.
Resources

Service for people at risk of developing glaucoma (November 2009)
NICE have added this commissioning guide to their other commissioning guides. The guide focuses on the referral and monitoring of people who have ocular hypertension or suspected chronic open angle glaucoma and should be read with NICE clinical guideline CG85.
Guide

Beyond Practice-based Commissioning: the local clinical partnership (24th November 2009)
Practice-based commissioning (PBC) has been a cornerstone of the government’s health service reforms in England since it was introduced in 2005, but it has so far had limited success. With the NHS about to enter a period in which growth in its budget will be severely constrained, it is vital that clinicians, especially doctors, are engaged in decisions about how patient services are designed and delivered and how NHS money is spent.

With the future of PbC in the balance, this joint paper by the Nuffield Trust and the NHS Alliance examines how PBC can be developed. While there may be many ways this could happen, this paper considers one broad model – that of multi-specialty groups of clinicians – for example GPs as well as hospital-based specialists – taking responsibility for the provision and commissioning of local healthcare.
Paper

User and carer involvement in Commissioning - an opportunity for PCTs to be world class (November 2009)
The Mental Health Improvement Programme (MHIP) and the National Mental Health Development Unit (NMHDU) are about to launch a project of work targeting PCTs to develop and refine methods and processes for increasing engagement and involvement of service users, carers and the public in key areas of the commissioning cycle for mental health and related services.

In the coming weeks PCTs will be invited to collaborate in this initiative as contribution to World Class Commissioning Competency.
Information

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