As a clinical commissioning group we are responsible for around £1.218bn of your money. This means it is important that we follow national and local guidance on how we make our decisions on commissioning (planning and funding) health and care so that you can access the best possible services. By following an agreed process we can ensure that our decisions are fair and transparent. This means you can hold us to account and make sure that we are delivering the best possible health services for you and your family.
Governing Body
Our governing body, including its sub-committees, as well as our clinical commissioning executive help us finalise decisions and play a key role in holding us to account publicly. In addition to this we have a number of patient groups giving local patients and the wider public a chance to scrutinise any decisions we make.
Involving patients and the public
Before we make any changes to services we have a responsibility to involve and consult with our patients and the wider public. You can see our latest consultations as well as other opportunities for you to get involved in the work we do by visiting our get involved pages.
Our members
As a membership led organisation we work closely with our 99 member practices who help us by providing the day to day clinical knowledge and have their say on any proposed commissioning plans.
National and local policies
There are also a number of national policies we have to follow as well as ensuring that we meet our duties as set out in the Health and Care Act 2012 and the legally binding NHS Constitution. Policies we have to follow include the NHS Mandate, NHS England’s assurance process for CCGs and, at a local level, the joint health and wellbeing strategy developed by the Leeds Health and Wellbeing Board, we are active members of the board. The strategy has been developed following a process called the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) which has helped identify key priorities and areas of action for the city so that we can improve the health and wellbeing of our communities.
As a CCG we also have a range of policies in place to ensure that we follow the same process for commissioning services. For more expensive and rare treatments a patient may need to be subject to our individual funding request policy.
What is commissioning?
Commissioning is the term used in the public sector for planning and buying services. It is a structured way of deciding how public money should be spent. In the case of the NHS, commissioning relates to providing health services.
Commissioning healthcare and health services is the process of examining:
- the healthcare needs of the area;
- the way in which healthcare services are delivered; and
- ways in which healthcare resources can best be used.
By using this information the different health and support needs of people can be identified and a wide range of services can be funded (commissioned) to meet those needs.
Primary care co-commissioning
NHS Leeds CCG has taken on joint responsibility (with NHS England) for the co-commissioning of primary care (GP) services. This means that we are working closely with our member practices to see how we can improve access and service quality across Leeds.