NEWS
PCTs and CCGs should be work- ing together with other sectors to increase the value of the commis- sioning offer, and provide the best value support for CCGs as soon as possible, the NAPC/NHS Alli- ance coalition suggests.
The coalition has forwarded its formal response to the ‘Develop- ing commissioning support: To- wards service excellence’ draft guidance to the DH. The guidance states that CCGs will have the freedom to decide how to carry out their commissioning functions and what support they use to help them.
The coalition also proposes the same principles that apply to commissioning support for CCGs should apply to commissioning support for the NHS Commission- ing Board.
Dr Johnny Marshall of the NAPC said: “While we understand the arguments expressed in the draft guidance about the proposed ap-
the value of the commissioning support on offer, rather than its supplier.”
NHS Alliance chair Dr Michael Dixon added: “Choice, self-deter- mination and local focus will en- courage CCGs to fulfill their raison d’être – that is to empower clini- cians to make a positive differ- ence to their patients and the local community whilst creating a NHS that is sustainable and efficient.”
proach to commissioning support, we think it is critical to the confi- dence of emergent CCGs, with a view to protecting the best inter- ests of the NHS, that with imme- diate effect, CCGs should have a
choice of commissioning support.
“This should include the freedom to access PCT cluster support, and also support from all other sectors and suppliers. The key is
The BMA has come out strongly against the proposals, branding them tantamount to ‘privatisa- tion’. The doctors’ union is also saying that the criteria for deter- mining whether a body has the capability and capacity to provide commissioning support is too ‘commercially focused’, which will make it “almost impossible” for CCGs to have in-house support staff. It also says that the commis- sioning support units emerging from PCT clusters will struggle to compete with large, commercial organisations.
The Royal Colleges of Nursing and Midwives have joined the BMA in outright opposition to the NHS reforms, after earlier attempts to
engage in the process of getting the Bill amended.
RCN chief executive and general
secretary Dr Peter Carter said: “We have worked hard on behalf of all our members to influence the decisions that have been taken as the Bill has gone through parlia- ment.
“However, it is now clear that these ‘reforms’ are forging ahead on the ground without the con- cerns of nurses and other clini- cians being heeded.
“The RCN has been on record as saying that withdrawing the Bill would create confusion and turmoil, however, on the ground, we believe that the turmoil of pro- ceeding with these reforms is now greater than the turmoil of stop- ping them.”
The RCM have said the reforms amount to “creeping privatisation” and have been a massive distrac- tion for the NHS.
Dr Peter Carter 4 | national health executive Jan/Feb 12
Health secretary Andrew Lansley has suggested that the medical
profession has been ‘hijacked’ by the unions, and said that their anger at changes to pay and pen- sions has led to the hardening of their stance towards the reforms.
The BMA made its decision to come out against the Bill in late 2011, sparked by the proposal on commissioning support. It says its main concerns are the “over ambitious” reform timetable and the fact that major changes have been taking place on the ground before the Bill has been passed; the reforms’ complexity and lack of coherence; the knock-on effects of the implementation and how dif- ferent parts of the reforms will work together; and a mismatch between the rhetoric and the reality.
The Bill has now been winding its way through Parliament for more than a year, having got its first reading on January 19, 2011, be- fore the ‘pause’. Its next step is the report stage in the House of Lords.
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