The future of commissioning
This paper reaffirms the role and position of local clinical commissioning into the future, and sets out the opportunities and challenges that need to be grasped if we are to truly transform healthcare while delivering within available resources.
As the NHS looks to transform to meet the rising demand and financial challenges, all parts of the system need to respond to support the drive to change. ‘The future of commissioning’ which was informed by interviews with CCG leaders and other key players in the health and care sector, is clear that we will continue to see an evolution in the commissioning system but that it remains a vital part of the health system that is focused on delivering for patients and local populations.
In the future it is unlikely that there will be one single model of clinical commissioning, but at the heart sits the clinical leadership, expertise and local knowledge of the communities they serve and this must not be lost. The paper also calls on national bodies and policy-makers to support the local models of strategic commissioning that are emerging.
Developments such as accountable care organisations and Sustainability and Transformation Plans, are welcomed in the paper as having the potential to allow them to focus on fulfilling their strategic ambitions to work across the whole system and place-based commissioning of services for the benefit of patients.
