Commissioning board sets out local structure and clinical senates plan

A briefing pack sent to staff yesterday confirmed that local area teams will all have the same core functions around the development of clinical commissioning groups, emergency planning, quality and safety, and service configuration.

However, there will also be variations between the teams around direct commissioning. While all local teams will commission GP and dental services, pharmacy and some optical services, 10 of the branches will have additional responsibilities as specialised commissioning hubs.

A smaller number of local teams will directly commission prison health and military health services.

London’s three local area teams will have a more “integrated structure”, reflecting “both the distinct nature of the London region and the need to ensure effective working with partners at both a borough and London-wide level”.

The structure is intended to take into account local geographies, service patterns and relationships.

Local area team directors will be appointed over June and July. Further recruitment, beginning with the next most senior roles, will take place from July to December.

The briefing states: “We are working across the system, moving as quickly as we can at the same time as aiming to align the recruitment and transfer of staff at similar grades and levels.

“By working in a coordinated way we aim to maximise opportunities for staff and minimise uncertainty and disruption in the current system.”

Although the document confirms there will be 12 clinical senates, there is no detail yet on who will be part of them or what their role will be.

Further details will be circulated “in the coming weeks”, it says.

There are three areas where clinical senate boundaries cut across those of the local area teams.

“This has been necessary to ensure that the senate boundaries recognise the pattern of patient flows, particularly with tertiary centres,” according to the briefing.

The local area teams will be:

North of England

• Cheshire, Warrington and Wirral
• Durham, Darlington and Tees
• Greater Manchester
• Lancashire
• Merseyside
• Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear
• North Yorkshire and Humber
• South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw
• West Yorkshire

Midlands and East of England

• Arden, Herefordshire and Worcestershire
• Birmingham and the Black Country
• Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire
• East Anglia
• Essex
• Hertfordshire and the South Midlands
• Leicestershire and Lincolnshire
• Shropshire and Staffordshire

London

• North East London
• North West London
• South London

South of England

• Bath, Gloucestershire, Swindon and Wiltshire
• Bristol, North Somerset, Somerset and South Gloucestershire
• Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly
• Kent and Medway
• Surrey and Sussex
• Thames Valley
• Wessex

The following 10 will be responsible for specialised commissioning:

• Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear
• South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw
• Cheshire, Warrington and Wirral
• East Anglia
• Leicestershire and Lincolnshire
• Birmingham and the Black Country
• Bristol, North Somerset, Somerset and South Gloucestershire
• Wessex
• Surrey and Sussex
• London

The clinical senates are:

• North East, north Cumbria, and the Hambleton and Richmondshire districts of North Yorkshire
• Yorkshire and the Humber
• Greater Manchester, Lancashire and South Cumbria
• Cheshire and the Mersey
• East Midlands
• West Midlands
• East of England
• London
• Thames Valley
• South East Coast
• Wessex
• South West