22.11.12
New specialist commissioning Operating Model published
The NHS Commissioning Board has published the new Operating Model for commissioning specialist services, concentrating services to provide national standards of quality.
This will help ensure that specialist staff can be more easily recruited and the level of training maintained. Ten different regional systems will be brought together and the new operating model will be underpinned by commissioning intentions for 2013/14.
The model will provide the NHS Commissioning Board with a clear focus on a range of rare conditions and low-volume treatments, from kidney disorders to burn care and uncommon cancers.
Specialist services account for approximately 10% of the total NHS budget, approximately £11.8bn a year.
Ian Dalton, chief operating officer and deputy chief executive at the NHS Commissioning Board, said: “This improved system will ensure national consistency in accessing services, reduce variation, and set clear quality standards leading to better health outcomes for patients. It will also allow us to start developing an outcomes framework for rare and specialised conditions, thus starting to move the focus of our discussions with providers from contract inputs to health outcomes.
“This is a real opportunity to dramatically improve the way we provide services for people with rare and specialised conditions through having clearly articulated standards for services.
“Our next step will be to shortly launch a public consultation on the first ever set of national service specifications and clinical policies for specialised services. This will be the first time we have had clear national policy and sets our clear intention for the future.”
James Palmer, the new clinical director for Specialised Services at the NHS Commissioning Board said: “Strong clinical involvement has been central to the development of this approach. We are working closely in partnership with Clinical Commissioning Groups and colleagues on the frontline to ensure the whole patient pathway is as seamless and locally responsive as possible in meeting patients’ needs.”
The report is at: www.commissioningboard.nhs.uk/files/2012/11/op-model.pdf
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