Guidance on GP commissioning authorisation process to be published ‘in days’
Speaking at last week's NHS Confederation annual conference in Manchester, Dame Barbara Hakin, national managing director of commissioning development at the Department of Health, said they were putting the finishing touches to the initial guidelines that will be used to decide whether consortia are fit for purpose.
A GP and former PCT manager, she told delegates: "Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for delivering the best care they can and they will get a lot of help and support. The Health and Social Care Bill will also make sure they take advice from experts.
There is a huge degree of concern about ensuring these groups are fit for purpose and we are working in the hope of publishing some guidance on authorisation by the end of this month
"There is, however, a huge degree of concern about ensuring these groups are fit for purpose and we are working in the hope of publishing some guidance on authorisation by the end of this month. Clinical commissioning groups will have to show clinical focus - how they will bring added value and how they will do things differently. Services must have patients and the public at their heart and we must work collaboratively to do joint commissioning."
There won't be rafts and rafts of things telling us what to do. It will be up to the commissioning groups to decide how best to delivery healthcare to their local populations
And she said primary care trusts and the new regional PCT clusters will be key to the success of GP commissioning, adding: "Over the next 18 months as groups come into being, we will give them delegated authority and PCT clusters will be there to support them and we are relying on that support to make this happen and to help things run smoothly. It will be about using clinical knowledge to make sure we do not have any waste. It is not just about GPs, but all professionals, although GPs will be the ones to co-ordinate the link between patients and speciality services."
Clinical commissioning groups will have to show clinical focus - how they will bring added value and how they will do things differently
But she denied the guidance due to be published would set in stone how commissioning boards will work. She said: "It is not about one group of professionals redesigning clinical services. We have got a degree of urgency to take this to the frontline, but there won't be rafts and rafts of things telling us what to do. It will be up to the commissioning groups to decide how best to delivery healthcare to their local populations."