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New framework for Primary Care Trusts:
Independent providers help NHS to deliver services
The Department of Health has announced the names of fourteen organisations appointed to offer support services to the NHS through a new agreement, known as the Framework for procuring External Support for Commissioners [FESC].
The framework is comprised of organisations, which have undergone a robust pre–qualification process, and will offer a menu of services, such as data analysis and contract management expertise to Primary Care Trusts [PCTs]. The organisations on the FESC will not deal with the delivery of direct patient care.
Although a number of PCTs already seek external support in undertaking their commissioning activities, it is expected that the framework will provide easy access to a bank of specialist expertise. The FESC suppliers have been appointed by the Department of Health on the basis of their technical and commercial ability to deliver a range of appropriate services.
An example of the kind of service which could be provided by one of the organisations appointed to the framework would be in the delivery of data analysis services to help PCTs assess the specific community needs of the local population, analyse trends and pinpoint areas of particular need.
As well as providing a panel of expert suppliers, the framework is expected to help PCTs obtain the best value–for–money by minimising resource and cost implications associated with conducting procurement activities, which some PCTs face when trying to obtain external support.
FESC will form one part of the Department’s wider world–class commissioning programme which will be developed in the Autumn.
The Department also confirmed that NHS patients in Cumbria and Lancashire will benefit from reduced waiting times and more choice as a new partnership with the independent provider Capio to deliver health services in the North West reached financial close, with the first services expected to commence in November 2007.
As part of the programme to create a diverse network of providers in the NHS, the Department has placed an advertisement in the Official Journal of the European Union inviting the independent sector to join a network of providers to run alongside the existing Extended Choice Network.
Full details of the framework can be found on website: www.dh.gov.uk.
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