Commissioning
Consultant support sought for CCG authorisation process
The NHS Commissioning Board will need external support, likely to come from management consultancies, to help authorise clinical commissioning groups.
CCG budget allocations delayed until February
The release of the first set of “shadow budgets” for clinical commissioning groups has been put back to February, HSJ has learnt.
Managers encouraged to blow whistle on colleagues in draft plans to regulate NHS leaders
NHS leaders must blow the whistle on colleagues if necessary, understand the “limitations” of their roles and openly explain budget decisions, under draft standards to regulate the profession.
Managers to fly in to run straggling CCGs' budgets
The NHS Commissioning Board will not take on the budget responsibilities of clinical commissioning groups which fail to win full authorisation by April next year, HSJ has been told.
Competitive tendering will be ‘as important’ as any qualified provider
Competitive tendering will be as significant as the use of any qualified provider in the reformed NHS, an influential commission is expected to conclude at the end of the month.
Exclusive: only half of CCGs will be ready - GP commissioning champion
Only half of clinical commissioning groups will be given full permission to take on budgets by April 2013 – creating a two-tier NHS – one of the most senior leaders of the movement has predicted.
Clinical commissioning group boards should have tenure and size limits
A model constitution for clinical commissioning groups has recommended board members serve no longer than four years at a time, and boards should be limited to 12 people.
CCG performance and payment regime allowed to include 'process' measures
Clinical commissioning groups will be given “at least monthly” updates on their performance – on “processes” as well as outcomes – by the NHS Commissioning Board, it has been confirmed.
DH to set out CCG behaviour guidance
The government is to set out how a clinical commissioning group can buy from its own practices, and set out expectations for their governance, in an imminent paper.
London CCGs begin mergers as clusters warn on size
Two pairs of clinical commissioning groups in London are in the process of merging, while other small CCGs are being warned they will not be authorised in their current form.
DH exerts pressure to merge on smaller CCGs
Smaller clinical commissioning groups are coming under increasing pressure to merge after the Department of Health announced a tight administrative allowance and a requirement for them to match local authority boundaries “as far as possible”.
BMA: GPs want CCGs big enough to avoid outsourcing of commissioning
The British Medical Association has said clinical commissioning groups should “urgently review and where necessary change their structures” so they are big enough to host their own support staff.
CCG management allowance set at £25 per head
Clinical commissioning groups are expected to be given £25 per head of population to spend on management from 2013-14, it has been announced today.
Dozens of CCGs not meeting rules must find 'alternatives'
The dozens of clinical commissioning groups which do not meet the government’s size and shape requirements will have to agree “alternatives” in the next few months.
CCGs 'feasible' if covering 100,000 or more
Clinical commissioning groups will need a population of at least 100,000 to be able to carry out all their statutory functions, a report commissioned by the Department of Health has found.
Exclusive: NHS begins planning CCG authorisation 'pipeline'
The NHS has begun constructing a “pipeline” to authorise clinical commissioning groups, in an effort to avoid a log jam before the April 2013 target.
CCGs may be 'ill-equipped' to meet information governance standards
Clinical commissioning groups will be subjected to an increasing range of information governance requirements, but may be may be “ill-equipped” to meet the more rigorous standards, official guidance has said.
Mental health tariffs 'not fit for purpose' - NHS Confederation
Mental health trusts and commissioners have not made enough progress in devising a tariff for their services despite enthusiasm from staff, the NHS Confederation has found.
Exclusive: 'Significant majority' of CCG population will live in its area - minister
Health minister Earl Howe has written to peers giving new details about how clinical commissioning groups’ populations and areas will be decided.
More on Consortia Commissioning
Commissioning by any other name: will 'clinical' become 'world class'?
Linear progress, zig-zagging or going round in circles? Calum Paton asks whether the Health Bill’s ideal of clinical commissioning can really deliver an improved era of healthcare after the years of false starts and rebadging.
'Local healthcare cannot be delivered by giant commissioning bodies'
The key to healthcare delivery models lies within natural communities – not in bloated commissioning organisations, says Charles Alessi.
Reaping joint benefits of streamlined hip and knee care pathways
One consortium’s approach to overhauling hip and knee care has brought efficiency and financial rewards while sparing patients from repeated trips to hospital. Debra de Silva and Sima Haririan explain.
