11.12.12
First CCGs authorised
The first 34 Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) have been authorised, the NHS Commissioning Board has announced.
The CCGs are the first wave of 211 organisations to replace the 152 primary care trusts from April 2013 and take responsibility for up to £65bn of the £95bn NHS Commissioning Board budget.
CCGs are independent statutory bodies, governed by their members, and all GP practices will be members of a CCG. The CCGs will now begin planning and commissioning hospital, community and mental health services.
Each first wave CCG has undergone and completed a five-month NHS Commissioning Board assessment, and eight have been authorised with no conditions, having met all 119 authorisation criteria. The other 26 will need to continue ‘developing’ until April 2013.
Sir David Nicholson, the NHS Commissioning Board’s chief executive, called the creation of CCGs a “great opportunity” and added: “In future, the vast majority of decisions about how we use the public’s money will be made in the community by the clinicians who are closest to the needs of the people they look after.
“We are determined to push power to the front line where talented clinicians and their teams can make a real difference.”
Dame Barbara Hakin, the NHS Commissioning Board’s National Director for Commissioning Development, said: “This is a step-change to a clinically-led NHS that is focused on delivering improved health outcomes, quality, innovation and public participation.”
She described the authorisation process as scrutinizing leadership, engagement and financial stability as well as the quality of their relationships with local authorities.
Dr Peter Carter, chief executive & general secretary of the RCN, voiced his disappointment that some CCGs have been authorised without the presence of a nurse on their board.
He said: “It is also about wider nursing involvement in commissioning and support at every level, so we can be assured that commissioning will be driven on a clinical basis.”
Mike Farrar, NHS Confederation chief executive added: “CCGs have the potential to make huge improvements to local health and care services.”
He also cautioned that CCGs must not be overwhelmed with complexity and must concentrate on maintaining financial stability and developing new models of care for patients and local communities.
“Developing a long-term, successful commissioning model will require open-mindedness and flexibility to improve policy and practice as we go.”
The 34 authorised CCGs are:
NHS Blackpool CCG; NHS Calderdale CCG; NHS Cumbria CCG; NHS East Riding; NHS North East Lincolnshire CCG; NHS Oldham CCG; NHS Rotherham CCG; NHS Wakefield CCG; NHS Warrington CCG; NHS West Cheshire CCG, NHS Bassetlaw CCG; NHS Dudley CCG; NHS East and North Herts CCG; NHS East Leicestershire & Rutland CCG; NHS Great Yarmouth and Waveney CCG; NHS Leicester City CCG; NHS North Staffordshire CCG; NHS Sandwell and West Birmingham CCG; NHS Shropshire CCG; NHS Stoke on Trent CCG; NHS West Leicestershire CCG, NHS Bedfordshire CCG; NHS Gloucestershire CCG; NHS Kernow CCG; NHS Newbury and District CCG; NHS North and West Reading; NHS Oxfordshire CCG; NHS Portsmouth CCG; NHS Somerset CCG; NHS South Reading CCG; NHS Wokingham CCG, NHS Islington CCG: NHS Kingston CCG; NHS Wandsworth CCG.
The remaining CCGs will be authorised in a further three waves, with results published in January, February and March.
(Image: Dominic Lipinski / PA Wire)
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