Posted on July 21, 2011 by Phillip Lee

In the White Paper Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS, published on 12 July 2010, the Coalition Government set out plans to reform the NHS. One of the biggest changes announced in this paper is the policy to move the responsibility for commissioning from the Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) to the GPs. Commissioning is the process of ensuring that our health services effectively meet the needs of the population.

Currently, managers working for, for example, East Berkshire Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) are responsible for commissioning. It is widely acknowledged that the present system has significant weaknesses and does not deliver efficient use of NHS resources and funds. The GP publication Pulse found that of the 55 PCTs it contacted, spending on management cost had risen with 25% from 2007/08 – 2009/10. To improve this unsustainable practice, the Coalition Government plans to devolve commissioning power from PCTs to groups of GPs organised into consortia, which means that from 2013, GPs working in consortia will be responsible for the majority of the health care provided in hospitals and in the community.

The Coalition Government believes that by shifting decision-making as close as possible to individual patients, people will have more control over their health needs. We believe that the GPs on the ground are best placed to lead on this, because it is GPs who see patients with every conceivable ailment on a daily basis. Therefore, it will be the GPs who will shape services for their patients and decide how best to use NHS resources instead of managers who have presently little or no direct contacts with patients.

Many people perceive these plans as radical, however, they are necessary in order to address the flaws in the current commissioning system. Putting patients first is at the heart of these reforms – the priority is improving their experience of the NHS and the quality of the care they receive. In the future, responsibility of the provision of services for patients will rest with your local GP consortium.