Primary Care Trusts face the challenging agenda of commissioning services that meet the needs of the population that they serve. Through the commissioning cycle of needs assessment, service specification, procurement, performance management and contract review, they have a pivotal role in driving up standards in service provision and enhancing public involvement in the design of services. The challenge and responsibilities are significant, as weak commissioning processes will result in inadequate service provision.
We work with PCTs to complete successfully each of the commissioning functions by providing the following services:
• Community needs assessment including prevalence and incidence of individual conditions, perceptions of service users and providers, demographic and resource analysis and mapped patterns of service availability and usage.
• Development of service specifications for particular services, including descriptions of care pathways, performance standards, and information schedules.
• Brokerage of contract discussions with providers
• Development of commissioning strategies
• Project management of commissioned service changes
• Collation of service directories including web-based systems
• Developing public consultation documents and managing and reporting upon public consultations.