The Department of Health issued on 16 May a Primary Care Trust Procurement Guide for Health Services  which is written to support NHS commissioners in deciding whether and how to procure health services through formal tendering and market-testing exercises. The Guide sets out the policy and regulatory context for procurement, and issues to consider when developing a procurement strategy. The Guide should be read in conjunction with the ‘Principles and Rules for Cooperation and Competition’, published as Annex D of the 2008/9 Operating Framework, and the ‘Framework for Managing Choice, Cooperation and Competition’ .

IMPRESS has complemented this with a position paper: Commissioning A Community COPD Service: Lessons for the NHS Based on a case study in Somerset PCT.

This case study is written for clinicians, service  managers and commissioners to illustrate the complexities in commissioning and procuring a new service for people with long term conditions  if existing services do not address patients’ needs.   It is accompanied by a set of suggested “dos and don’ts” on the last page (and see below).  One of the most important of these is to recommend to colleagues that a continuous programme of improvement, which actively engages patients, led by clinicians from primary and secondary care with managerial support, is a simpler, potentially more sustainable approach.  However, if a competitive process is chosen, it offers guidance for bidders on how to make a successful bid and for commissioners on how to develop the market.  

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