World class commissioning assurance results imminent

This week PCTs will start to get their assurance results. Individual reports on the results of the world class commissioning assurance process and ratings by SHAs will be issued this month. PCTs will also be expected to publish their results. Individual report cards will be followed in March by tables allowing comparisons to be made between PCTs.

Early indicators point to generally higher scores in local leadership, clinical engagement working with community partners and lower scores in market development and effective procurement. A report by the NHS Confederation notes that no PCT is expected to get top marks across the board and reasons that entry-level scores are to be expected in the first year of the process.

Nevertheless, the Confederation also echoes the view made clear by the Department of Health that the baseline scores are a starting point from which PCTs are expected to make rapid improvement.

The full article is available on the NHS Confederation website.

Chief medical officer launches public health awards

Sir Liam Donaldson, chief medical officer, has established an award dedicated to those working in public health, and is calling for entries.

The Chief Medical Officer's Public Health Awards will recognise individuals, teams and services that have made an impact in public health in England. The awards will also help to raise the profile of public health.

Further information is available here.

New procurement helpdesk

A new procurement helpdesk is now available from NHS PCC. SHAs, commissioners and providers may use the helpdesk to ask questions and seek advice on procurement issues arising from system management policies and, in particular, the PCT Procurement Guide.

The helpdesk is available here.

World class commissioning of primary care and community services

These documents are for commissioners and form part of a series of supporting guides to help primary care trusts become world class commissioners of primary care and community services. They have been co-produced by NHS East of England, NHS PCC and the Department of Health.

Guides on dentistry and GP services were published last week and are available here.

Further guides will be published soon. They are:

• Interactive toolkit for improving access and responsiveness of GP services
• Improving pharmaceutical services
• Measuring for quality improvement
• Improving services for socially excluded groups

PCTs with ideas for further guides are encouraged to contact their local NHS PCC advisor.

Three-year plan tackles learning disabilities

The Department of Health has launched Valuing People Now, a strategy for people with learning disabilities. It includes a detailed delivery plan, together with the response to the consultation and further response to the Joint Committee on Human Rights' report A Life Like Any Other. Valuing People Now also responds to the key recommendations of Healthcare for All, the report of the independent inquiry chaired by Sir Jonathan Michael.

Further information is here.

Primary care roadmap

NHS Connecting for Health has just published the latest version of the primary care roadmap. This document details the primary care elements of the National Programme for IT (NPfIT) which will affect PCTs over the next 12 to 18 months.

The roadmap is available here.

Transforming community services

This enabling guidance is to help PCTs move the relationship between direct provider and commissioner to a purely contractual one, and consider what types of organisation would best meet the future needs of patients and local communities.

Download the guidance here.

NHS PASA: Procurement and contracting support training courses for PCT commissioners

The courses have been designed to cover the knowledge, core skills and competencies required by PCT commissioners. Each course builds upon the previous event to form a coherent body of knowledge. It is recommended that participants undertake all six courses in the programmed order.

For further information and to book, please go to: www.pcc.nhs.uk/events/pasa

Benchmarking primary care medical services progress report

NHS PCC's collaborative project with the NHS Benchmarking Network is now well underway with a large number of PCTs collecting data for inclusion in the national primary care medical services benchmarking product.

The project will produce a national benchmarking report in late March 2009 which will review the landscape of primary care medical services across the NHS.

To make sure your PCT is included in the benchmarking product, please submit your data return to Steve Watkins of the NHS Benchmarking Network by 16 February 2009. Contact Steve at s.watkins@nhs.net

Details of how to participate, the data collection toolkit and a project Q&A are available here.

Benchmarking primary care medical services progress report

With over 13 million Choose and Book referrals to date, for many the system has become an integral part of the referral process. The British Medical Association (BMA) receives mixed feedback about Choose and Book and felt there could be value in exploring local use and possible reasons for these variances in opinion. This report is the outcome of this research.

Download it here.

NHS Employers, PSNC and GPC launch guidance for GPs

NHS Employers, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) and the General Practitioners Committee (GPC) have launched guidance for GPs and practice-based commissioning groups to highlight two key services that pharmacists can perform: medicines use reviews (MURs) and repeat dispensing.

A joint letter introducing the guidance is here.

The guidance itself can be found here.

Alcohol guidelines for community pharmacies released

The chief pharmaceutical officer Keith Ridge has written to PCT pharmaceutical advisors asking them to support pharmacies in promoting the Know Your Limits safe drinking campaign. A free pack for community pharmacists is also provided.

The CPO's letter is here.

Download the pack here.

Building foundations for pharmacy

Following recent pharmacy events, two documents have been produced to support PCT staff involved in the commissioning of pharmaceutical services. The first is a glossary of terms and the second contains web links for the various regulations, directions and guidance documents relating to pharmaceutical services, so that PCTs have all reference information available in one document. Download both documents here.

Directions to PCTs and NHS trusts concerning decisions about drugs and other treatments

These guiding principles have been developed by the Department of Health to support local decision making about medicines. This includes decisions on medicines made as part of the development of the annual operating plan as well as consideration of in-year service developments and individual funding requests. The principles are designed to cover decision making across primary and secondary care on all medicines not yet appraised by National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. While these principles are directed at primary care trusts, they should equally apply to any collaborative arrangements PCTs may choose to adopt.

Download the principles here.

NHS dental patient charges 2009/10

Early indications from the Department of Health are that any increase in NHS dental charges is likely to be in line with that for prescriptions or around 1.5%. PCC is working with DH to prepare new patient literature to reflect any changes.

BDA dental conference and exhibition 2009

Registration is now open for the BDA's British Dental Conference and Exhibition to be held at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow on 4-6 June 2009. This year's theme is 'Dentistry is transforming'.

Practitioners will be eligible for 15 hours CPD. Further details are available here.

My CPD online facility launched

The Faculty of Dental Surgeons has launched My CPD, an online facility for fellows and members that allows them to record their CPD online. It records verifiable and non-verifiable CPD, satisfies the requirements for both single-registered members and those with dual GDC/GMC registration, allows users to create printable records and certificates, and keeps track of users' outstanding CPD requirements.

Further details are here.

Dispensing opticians take a view on lower fees

Following a meeting between the Association of British Dispensing Optician's president Barry Duncan, general secretary Sir Anthony Garrett and GOC chairman Geoff Harris, the Council has confirmed that it is willing to consider the issue of lower registration payments for dispensing opticians, according to a report in the trade publication Optician.

Read the full story here.

Ready Reckoner for assessing the impact on practices of global sum and QOF changes

The Department of Health has updated this tool to help PCTs measure the impact on practices of the QOF changes due to take place in 2009/10 and 2010/11. The spreadsheet can be found here (in a .zip file), accompanied by an overview of its use and general guidance on how to evaluate requests for support by individual practices.

Subscribers are recommended to read the Word document which contains useful technical information before using the spreadsheet.

QOF Management Guide volume 2 now available

The second part of NHS PCC's comprehensive three-volume guide to QOF is now available. Download a copy.

Volume 3 - business rules - will be available soon.

NHS PCC secondment opportunities

NHS PCC is looking to expand its team of Primary Care Contracting Advisors (PCCAs) by four whole-time equivalent appointments to the south west, south central, east of England and west midlands. These posts may be offered on a fixed term/secondment basis. Further information and details on how to apply can be obtained from rebecca.thornley@pcc.nhs.uk or sarah.rothwell@pcc.nhs.uk. Closing date for applications/expressions of interest is 6 February 2009 with interviews on 19 February 2009 in London.

PCTs can provide details of their vacancies to be included in this section. Contact your local advisor if you would like a vacancy in your PCT featured.

Subscriber only events

Other

Event open to all

February 2009

• 3rd: The New NHS Standard Contract: Mental Health and Community Contracts Implementation Workshops - Holiday Inn Regents Park, London W1W 5EE
• 4th: NW Primary Care Finance Leads Network - The Fir Grove, Warrington WA4 2LD
• 5th: The New NHS Standard Contract: Mental Health and Community Contracts Implementation Workshops - Reebok Stadium: Bolton Wanderers FC / Devere Whites Hotel, Bolton BL6 6JW
• 5th: NW: Primary Care Commissioning Leads Network - Macdonald Kilhey Court, Standish WN1 2XN
• 5th: W Midlands Region: NHS PCC Focus Group Meeting - The Studio, Birmingham,
• 6th: The New NHS Standard Contract: Mental Health and Community Contracts Implementation Workshops - Radisson SAS Durham,
• 10th: The New NHS Standard Contract: Mental Health and Community Contracts Implementation Workshops - Mercure London Gatwick Hotel, Gatwick RH6 0BE
• 11th: Draft Pharmacy Order 2009 Consultation Event (Professionals, Patients and Public) - Edinburgh Marriott Hotel, Edinburgh EH12 8NF
• 11th: W Midlands Region: Dental Monitoring Event - The Studio, Birmingham,
• 12th: 'New Commissioning Guidance for Urological and Skin Conditions: Providing Quality Care Closer to Home' - London event - Business Design Centre, Islington, London N1 0QH
• 12th: The New NHS Standard Contract: Mental Health and Community Contracts Implementation Workshops - Hilton London Metropole, London W2 1JU
• 12th: Equitable Access To Primary Medical Care - Workshop 3 - Hilton London Metropole, London W2 1JU
• 13th: W Midlands Region: Community Pharmacy Control of Entry Workshop - The Studio, Birmingham,
• 13th: South West Dental Network Event - Lyngford House, Taunton TA2 8HD
• 17th: South West Eyecare Network Meeting - The Cleve Hotel & Country Club, Wellington TA21 8SN
• 18th: The New NHS Standard Contract: Mental Health and Community Contracts Implementation Workshops - Birmingham City Football Club,
• 18th: W Midlands Region: QOF Business Rules - The Studio, Birmingham,
• 23rd: By Invitation Only: NHS Great Yarmouth and Waveney and Norfolk and Suffolk LDCs - Dental Overview Event with the Chief Dental Officer - Barry Cockcroft - The Carlton Manor Hotel, Lowestoft, Suffolk NR33 8BL
• 24th: Draft Pharmacy Order 2009 Consultation Event (Patients and Public) - Holiday Inn London Bloomsbury, WC1N 1HT
• 25th: Draft Pharmacy Order 2009 Consultation Event (Professionals, Patients and Public) - Mercure Holland House Hotel, Cardiff CF24 0DD
• 27th: South Central Eyecare Monitoring Network Meeting - Shaw House, Newbury RG14 2DR

For further event dates please see www.pcc.nhs.uk/events