GPs to get commissioning support

The Department of Health has announced that it is to provide GPs with commissioning support packs, which will help GPs in designing and commissioning services.

The support packs will include various tools and templates, which the government says will remove some of the administrative burden from GPs as they go about commissioning.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: “We want to devolve power to clinicians and patients – GP commissioning is central to achieving this. But we want to make sure that GPs are supported too, and that they do not have to wade through layers of bureaucracy when designing services. This is the first of a series of packs that aim to reduce the time GP Consortia will spend on procurement and to easily demonstrate how they can design services that will give patients the best outcomes and use money effectively.