Almost one in 10 CCGs still have conditions placed on their authorisation by NHS England, reveal new figures published this month.
The latest figures show that 19 CCGs out of 211 have still have to meet one or more of the 119 conditions set out by NHS England to demonstrate they continue to operate unsupported.
Conditions fall across six ‘domains’, including: ‘clear and credible plans’ to continue deliver the QIPP challenge within budget, patient, carer and community engagement, constitutional and governance arrangements and ‘great leaders’.
Three of these CCGs: NHS Barnet CCG, NHS Croydon CCG and NHS Thurrock CCG, also have legal ‘legal directions’ that set out how the CCG must work with other CCGs or NHS England for specific functions, or have this function carried out on their behalf.
Some 91% of CCGs, including all CCGs in the north of England, have full authorisation, meaning they have met all of the criteria and are now putting out plans for further development.
CCGs that have yet to meet all their conditions have ‘conditional authorisation’ but NHS England requires them to address the issues or to carry out certain functions in line with NHS England’s directions until authorised.
A spokesperson for NHS England told Pulse: CCGs have made significant progress in a relatively short time.’
Adding: ‘Clearly, the hard work of CCGs and the support offered by NHS England’s area teams is showing results. We continue to support all conditionally authorised CCGs, and we review our support arrangements on a quarterly basis to ensure that they remain appropriate to each CCG’s needs.’
‘Authorisation is just the beginning of the journey for clinically-led commissioning. We will continue to work with CCGs to ensure the NHS delivers high quality health care services and better health care outcomes for local communities.’
