COMMERCIAL: Private provider Optum has won a three-year contract to carry out acute commissioning services for 18 Wessex and the Thames Valley clinical commissioning groups.

Under the £150m contract Optum, formerly UnitedHealth UK, will provide contract management, forecasting and capacity management services to the CCGs.

An Optum spokeswoman said: “We will also leverage our capabilities to provide a “whole system” view of CCG activity to identify key drivers and identify opportunities for improvements and implementation of best practices – with the key overall objective of delivering better patient outcomes more efficiently and effectively.”

The new contract, which covers approximately £50m per annum of acute activity, was gained through a formal tender process when the initial contract ended.

The 18 CCG groups are: Slough CCG; Windsor, Ascot and Maidenhead CCG; NHS Bracknell and Ascot CCG; NHS Wokingham CCG; NHS North and West Reading CCG; NHS South Reading CCG; NHS Newbury And District CCG; NHS Chiltern CCG; NHS Aylesbury Vale CCG; NHS Oxfordshire CCG; NHS Dorset CCG; NHS Fareham and Gosport CCG; NHS South Eastern Hampshire CCG; NHS Portsmouth CCG; NHS Southampton CCG; NHS West Hampshire CCG; NHS North East Hampshire and Farnham CCG; and NHS North Hampshire CCG.