Introduction: The purpose of The Commissioning Friend
This is part of a series of NatPaCT resources to support PCTs. It focuses specifically on the role of the PCT in Whole Systems Commissioning of Acute Services, including specialist commissioning.
It is intended to provide a route map of the essential steps the PCT should take in developing and following a process to ensure the delivery of high quality, responsive and timely acute care for its population. It is for PCTs and local health systems to decide how to apply the material in this Friend to their own circumstances.
We explore the relationship between the Local Development Planning process required by the Secretary of State, and the plans and strategies organisations need to devise to implement them in detail in our Resource Guides, especially those on NHS Planning, Finance and Service Strategies and Project Management .
| Commissioning is the process by which PCTs identify the health needs of their population and make prioritised decisions to secure care to meet those needs within available resources.
It includes longer term strategic planning, medium term planning (three year Local Delivery Plans) and the shorter term agreement and performance management of Service Level Agreements.
The process should involve the public, engage clinicians, and be conducted on a whole system basis, informed by Health Equity Audits, and carried through with the full participation of other stakeholders including NHS Trusts, local authority(s) and the voluntary sector. |
A changing world
PCTs take on commissioning in a time of dynamic change in health and social care :
- Economic, social and health impacts of new demography, especially the rising proportion of older people
- Advances in medical technology as new interventions are developed and those interventions are applicable to people with higher levels of morbidity or co-morbidities
- Rising public expectations and knowledge about the quality and availability of care and a desire for greater local control over services
- A political commitment to redress inequalities in health and access to health services.
If commissioning is the challenge facing PCTs then it is also the opportunity for them to show the difference they can make.
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