Commissioning
The Commissioning Programme focuses on adult health and social care but we also recognise the place of wider local authority and other commissioning interest and skills.
The Programme provides support to the field in developing and consolidating commissioning knowledge and skills. We undertake this jointly between the NHS and Adult Social Care and have been developing links with children's services, housing and supported people programmes as well as the wider family of local government. Links with providers are of increasing importance.
Putting People First has been a key driver for the Commissioning Programme.
Programme overview
Commissioning is the way in which local authorities and PCTs work with their local populations and partners to shape local services to meet local needs.
Current commissioning priorities include:
- integrated working between local government and the NHS;
- commissioning strategies, which maximise choice and control while balancing investment in prevention and early intervention, and
- local market development and the development of social capital, and asset-based approaches.
In the context of Putting People First, commissioning for social care places a much stronger emphasis on understanding the choices that service users and carers want to make, as well as a greater focus on supporting people to achieve the outcomes they want. To that end The Programme is working in partnership with other sectors – particularly local communities as well as service providers -to develop an understanding of local needs and service provision, and what needs to be done to ensure that these match up.
Stakeholders and Governance
This Programme reports to three sponsors two of whom are directors of adult social services and the other a director of strategic partnerships in a PCT.
Key stakeholders
Key stakeholders are local government and the NHS together with people who use services, their carers, and service providers.
Commissioning is a key enabler of all NWJIP programmes but is closely interrelated with the complementary work streams within the Making the Strategic Shift and Choice and Control programmes as shown in the NWJIP One Plan for 2010/11.
The commissioning programme is delivered by the programme lead in conjunction with a range of providers including higher education and other consultancies, alongside with experts from the field and experts by experience.
Commissioning work streams
Joint Strategic Needs Assessment
We represent the NW JSNA community in relation to the Department of Health’s national Reference Group and take the national lead in areas relevant to commissioning.
Commissioning Development
We respond to developments in commissioning techniques and methodologies by offering commissioners the opportunity to hear and contribute to the development of best and emerging practice.
Commissioner Development
We will continue with further skills development across health and social care commissioning at undergraduate and postgraduate level with the University of Central Lancashire to ensure that we have a continued supply of commissioners with appropriate accreditation in the region
Network and Roadmap website
The Programme offers commissioners across the Region the opportunity to work as a network, sharing knowledge dissemination and development opportunities. This is facilitated by the website www.northwestroadmap.org.uk which we will continue to support.
Field Projects
Experience from last year suggested that relatively moderate investment in field based project work (e.g. the Integrated Commissioning Programme, Demonstration Sites for Commissioning Wellbeing) is an effective means of assistance of a number of authorities who wish to access help and support with specific issues. It also represents a significant efficiency over and above those authorities accessing help separately from each other or via commercial concerns.
