NHS England reveals full list of CCGs to take on GP contracts from April

NHS England has revealed the first set of CCGs that will take control for commissioning the majority of GP contracts and services from April this year, with 65 making the cut.

As part of a push to improve local primary care, 64 CCGs from across the country have initially been given the green light to take on full delegated commissioning responsibility for GP services but more may follow, NHS England said.

Out of 77 CCGs that applied, one more as yet unnamed CCG is expected to gain approval subject to making some governance changes. This means 65 CCGs are expected to be holding GP contracts, performance managing practices and setting up local incentive schemes from April.

Co-commissioning plans already being rolled out by CCGs include a £95-per-patient guarantee by NHS Bolton CCG to practices reducing emergency admissions while NHS Sandwell and Birmingham CCG was already budgeting a £1m per year investment in GP commissioning staff. Elsewhere, in the Thames Valley area, CCGs are planning to delay clawbacks of funding from PMS practices to 2016.

The move follows plans spelled out early last year by NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens to give patients, communities and clinicians more scope in deciding how local services are developed. Since then the plans have developed into CCGs taking one of three levels of ‘co-commissioning’ responsibility.

This includes the full delegated option as well as joint commissioning with NHS England’s area teams and greater involvement in commissioning. Decisions on which CCGs will be approved for joint commissioning will be made in the coming weeks.

NHS England’s national commissioning strategy director Ian Dodge said the number of CCGs approved to take on the full delegated role was ‘a vote of confidence’ in CCGs.

He said: It is part of our commitment to deliver a new deal for primary care. And it’s a critical step towards joining up the commissioning system, which in turn will help unlock new models of integrated care described in the NHS Five Year Forward View.’

GP and CCG lead Dr Amanda Doyle, who heads NHS England’s co-commissioning oversight group, also welcomed the news, saying the wider role of CCGs would ‘enable a shift in investment from acute to primary and community services and to enable money to follow the patient’.

NHS England said CCGs that had been unsuccessful in their bid would get help to ‘achieve the commissioning model that works best for them’.