05.04.17
CSU commissioned to draw up bespoke STP integration reports by May
NHS England has instructed a Commissioning Support Unit to draw up bespoke reports for each of the 44 STP footprints in England to set out advise how savings can be made through better integration of mental and physical health services, NHE has learned.
The Midlands & Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit (MLCSU) has been told to produce the reports by the end of April. MLCSU won the procurement for the £150,000 project in December after applying unopposed.
The recommendations will be produced from ‘data packs’ that will support STPs and CCGs to develop investment cases for key Five Year Forward View for Mental Health deliverables, regrading integrated mental and physical health care pathways.
These include:
- Integrated IAPT
- Liaison psychiatry
- Improved care planning for frequent attenders at A&E,
- Improved physical health care for people with SMI
The data will be drawn from analysis of linked data from the mental health dataset and the acute care dataset.
In the summary of the contract between MLCSU and NHS England it read: “This is a contract with Midlands and Lancashire CSU to provide a bespoke report for each of the 44 STP footprints, along with a single national report for NHS England, setting out the scale of, and potential financial savings to be generated from opportunities to integrate mental and physical healthcare.
“The data analysis will support STPs and CCGs to develop investment cases for key Five Year Forward View for Mental Health deliverables regarding integrated mental and physical health care and support a focus on high quality delivery against mental health CQUIN schemes.
“This information will be made available in the form of a bespoke report for each individual STP (including CCG level analysis) which will help inform their initial implementation of STP priorities.”
Last week, Simons Stevens released the “next steps” report for the Five Year Forward View, which sets four priorities for spending: improving performance in A&E, strengthening access to GP services, and delivering improvements to both cancer services and mental health.
At the time of the launch, Stevens said: “Today we chart a course for practical care improvements for the next few years. We do not underestimate the challenges but, get these right, and patients, staff and the tax-paying public will notice the benefits.
“With waiting times still low by historical standards but on the rise, and the budget growing – but slowly – it is the right time to take stock and confront some of the choices raised by this challenging context.”
It was also revealed that accountable care systems (ACSs) will now be considered an ‘evolved’ version of an STP that is working as a locally integrated health system, and this will come paired with much greater freedoms for local organisations.
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