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’.
NEW! From 1 October 2008, all NHS commissioners in England will be required to post information about tendering opportunities and contract awards on NHS Supply2Health The public site is here.
In addition, from 1 October 2008 there is a new Co-operation and Competition panel. The existence of the panel will increase potential legal challenges to procurement decisions, incentivising PCTs to demonstrate that their processes are open and fair. PCTs are therefore expected to refer to the Procurement Guide for advice.
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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See also Dos and dont's of procurement
Making the case for a focus on respiratory care
For many clinicians and commissioners, the drive to reduce avoidable emergency admissions has led to a review of care for people with COPD. The NHS Institute’s Opportunity Locator gives SHA and PCT level information about numbers of ambulatory care sensitive condition (ACS) spells and the potential to avoid admission or facilitate earlier discharge. COPD and asthma feature within the ACS list. See here.
Contracts
The DH commissioning website contains all the formal documentation and policy background you require, including a
standard acute services contract - to be used from April 2008, and a n
ew standard community services contract to be used for all providers f
rom April 2009, which is in draft as of September 15 2008. Comments should be sent to
[email protected]
Principles and rules for co-operation and competition
DH policy states that competition and choice are powerful levers for driving up quality, delivering better value and reducing inequalities. However, they can only be effective if there are clear, enforceable rules guiding and governing behaviour within the healthcare system. It has now published (Autumn 2008) principles and rules for cooperation and competition which "provide simple, workable guidance for system managers, commissioners, and providers on the expected behaviours and rules governing cooperation and competition, in the provision of NHS services. These rules ensure fair and transparent competition where this is needed to make the best use of resources and enable innovation, and provide essential safeguards for the interests of patients, taxpayers, and the reputation of the NHS."