31.10.11
NHS Commissioning Board established in shadow form
The NHS Commissioning Board will be established in shadow form today, to ensure the whole commissioning system of the NHS is cohesive, coordinated and efficient.
It will function initially as a special health authority, and is due to take on full statutory responsibilities from April 2013, subject to legislation. It will take on the day-to-day running of the NHS, with a staff of around 3,500 and overall responsibility for NHS care worth £80bn.
It will support, develop and hold to account a national system of clinical commissioning groups, which will commission locally the majority of healthcare services. It will also be responsible for directly commissioning some services, notably primary care and specialised services for rare conditions and diseases.
Sir David Nicholson, chief executive of the board, said: “We'll publish information about general practice, so you can compare what your GP provides compared with others in the area and nationally. We think this will be a very powerful mechanism for patients to make choices about which GPs they use.”
The NHS Confederation has welcomed the creation of the board, and recommends that the Government ensures the focus is solely on commissioning, and that transparency is promoted within the board.
Chief executive Mike Farrar said: “We strongly welcome the creation of the NHS Commissioning Board. We want and need it to be successful. If it isn't, the whole NHS is going to have a very big problem, especially with the current financial pressures building daily.
“The creation of a national body with a single-minded focus on making the system work for patients and tax-payers is a major opportunity.
“However, the Board faces a number of potential bear traps. It must act to avoid the danger of being seen as unaccountable to the public, overbearing to the health service, or ineffective in delivering tangible benefits to patients.
“Through its early actions, it needs to show that is not where we are heading. We need to empower our new local commissioners, not stifle their enthusiasm. They need guidance which is just that - guidance, not mandatory rules. If power remains centralised with the Board, enthusiasm for commissioning among local clinicians and managers will wane.
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