PCT Network has established a PCT provider services forum to ensure a strong, influential, national voice for community services and to enable the development and sharing of good practice.
The forum is led by leaders of PCT provider services from each region and regularly holds national meetings for members on topical issues.
Transforming Community Services
A letter has been issued to SHAs and PCTs from David Nicholson, chief executive of the NHS in England, signalling changes to the timetable for Transforming Community Services. The letter indicates that although PCTs must still develop commissioning plans for priority community services by October 2009, and that provider organisations must be ready by this date, SHAs will now determine the timetable for the development and assurance of PCTs’ proposals regarding future organisational form.
David Nicholson’s letter refers to a concern that there has been too much focus to date on future organisational structures and forms for community services at the expense of delivering service transformation. This is an issue that the PCT Network has raised with the Department on several occasions. PCT Network welcomes David Nicholson’s reiteration that the objectives of the Transforming Community Services policy is to improve services and outcomes.
If you would like to discuss the PCT Network’s position on the TCS policy please contact David Stout at david.stout@nhsconfed.org.
Good governance guidance for PCT Provider Committees
Guidance on the governance of PCT Provider Committees has now been published, and is available on both the Department of Health and Appointments Commission websites. The document can also be viewed here.
This guidance sets out the core principles that should underpin the establishment and make-up of Provider Committees, the advantages and disadvantages of the various recruitment options for populating the Provider Committee with independent members, and the roles, responsibilities, terms and conditions of these members. It also indicates best practice in relation to:
- establishing the terms of reference for Provider Committees
- the delegation and reservation of PCT powers and functions
- managing conflict of interests
- establishing Provider Committee sub-committees
- promoting Provider Committee decision making transparency
If you have examples of good governance arrangements within your own PCT that you wish to share, or have any questions or queries about the guidance, Provider Committees or associated governance arrangements, the Appointments Commission staff can be contacted via providergovernance@appointments.org.uk
Department of Health launches transformational guides
The Department of Health has this week launched a series of transformational guides to support the NHS in delivering high quality community healthcare services.
The transformational guides will focus on six key areas:
- health, well-being and reducing inequalities
- acute care closer to home
- people with long-term conditions
- rehabilitation services
- services for children, young people and families
- end of life care
The six guides, titled 'Ambition, Action, Achievement!' have been drawn up with the aim of providing support to NHS practitioners and clinical leaders in transforming services locally, providing local staff with information to modernise and improve services in their community.
A copy of the guides can be accessed on the Department of Health website.
A Quality Framework Guidance for Community Services will also be published alongside the guides. The Guidance includes more than 70 proposed quality indicators to measure and improve the quality of community services provided.
Co-operation and competition panel advice on PCT provider arm
The development and implementation of PCTs’ plans for their provider arms under the Transforming Community Services program potentially gives rise to risks for PCTs under the Principles and Rules of Cooperation and Competition, and could give rise to complaints to the Cooperation and Competition Panel (CCP). As part of its role, the CCP is keen to assist PCTs in addressing these risks at an early stage so as to reduce the likelihood of problems emerging later.
Two areas where the CCP may be able to offer informal advice are:
- first, competition issues associated with the process that a PCT wants to use to divest its provider arm, and in particular, where a PCT is considering a process that may limit competition between potential providers; and
- second, competition issues associated with different potential purchasers of a PCT’s provider arm – where potential providers may subsequently be scrutinised under the merger and acquisition provisions of the Principles and Rules of Cooperation and Competition.
Informal advice is provided by CCP staff rather than the Panel itself (so as to protect the impartiality of the Panel in case it is subsequently asked to formally look at the same matter), and is not a competition ‘sign-off’ of any particular process or transaction. Nevertheless, it should be a useful means of identifying possible competition issues and ensuring that they are addressed before they become a problem.
PCTs should feel free to contact the Director of the CCP, Andrew Taylor, at andrew.taylor@ccpanel.gsi.gov.uk to discuss.