Below are some links to other useful websites for commissioning of health and wellbeing services. Note that the subsections of commissioning practice and national themes and guidance also have sources of further help on specific topics.

The DH Care Networks is under significant changes with the central DH Care Networks platform no longer existing. Each individual programme is, currently,  under review in regard to their website requirements.  However information on the individual programmes can be accessed via the following links:

• Integration
• Personalisation
• Prevention
• Building Community Capacity
• Independent Living Choices
• Dignity in Care
• Commissioning
• Dementia
• CSED
• CAF
• Personal Health Budgets

The Local Government Information Unit (LGIU), an independent and influential think tank, are setting up a national learning network on sustainable social care through the Centres for Local Sustainability and for Service Transformation.  This has been sponsored by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) and the Department of Health.  They are inviting organisations to join this network which will run from October 2009 to March 2010. Click here for more details.

As well as local government inspection reports, the Audit Commission http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk has useful background reports on health and wellbeing including 'Older People - Independence and Well-being: the challenge for public services' and 'Forget Me Not: mental health services for older people'. It published the commissioning guide for social services 'Take Your Choice: a commissioning framework for community care'.

 

The Commissioning Business Service www.gmcbs.co.uk provides NHS based specialist support to improve the commissioning of health services. The site features five key areas which give specific information about: Collaborative Commissioning, Procurement & Market Management, Contracting & Performance Management, Corporate Services and Business Intelligence.

ChaMPs http://www.champs-for-health.net/ is the public health network for Cheshire and Merseyside PCTs, NHS trusts, local authorities, and wider organisations. It aims to promote and protect public health and wellbeing, and develop capacity and capability in the public sector.

The Child and Maternal Health Intelligence Unit ChiMat www.chimat.org.uk is a new national resource that aims to provide ready access to relevant information and knowledge relating to child and maternal health. It will provide a gateway for access to to the latest published research and evidence, performance indicators, an on-line directory of services, and on-line tools for commissioners.

The Centre for Public Innovation is a new quarterly publication to support the public sector to deliver better service outcomes.

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has a wide remit that encompasses housing, homelessness, partnerships, social exclusion, sustainable communities and local government. It recently published 'A Guide to Procuring Care and Support Services'. The website has a useful section about the National Procurement Strategy for Local Government in England.

The Department of Health (DH) has a commissioning section on its website at  which contains guidance documents on commissioning arrangements in the NHS, including world-class commissioning, practice-based commissioning and commissioning specialised services.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and social care in England and promotes improvement in the quality of the NHS, Local Authority, private companies and voluntary organisations. It undertakes inspection of all health and social care establishments in England and Wales.

The Every Child Matters website is a good source of help on commissioning children and young people's services. It has a section on joint planning and commissioning that includes case studies, national contracts and documents such as 'Effective Practice in Commissioning in Children's Services'.

The FundingCaring website www.fundingcaring.co.uk/ offers a unique reference point on financing the care of elderly or disabled relatives. The site features more than 60 articles written by experts who continually update and add new content.

The Health Services Management Centre at Birmingham University www.hsmc.bham.ac.uk specialises in development, education and research in health and social care services in the UK. The website has information about current and past research and downloadable publications including 'Making the Shift from Secondary to Primary Care', 'Commissioning in the Reformed NHS: policy into practice' and 'Creating NHS Local: a new relationship between PCTs and local government'.

The Housing Learning and Improvement Network (LIN) is the national network for promoting new ideas and supporting change in the delivery of housing, care and support services for older and vulnerable adults, including people with disabilities and long term conditions. It has the lead for supporting the implementation and sharing the learning from the Department of Health's Extra Care Housing Grant arrangements and related housing, care and support capital and revenue programmes. The Extra Care Housing Toolkit, available on the Housing LIN web site, is designed to assist in the development of extra care housing in the context of the wider accommodation and service needs of older people. It offers a structured approach to developing policy and locally based initiatives and a variety of tools designed to facilitate thinking about extra care.

The Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) www.idea.gov.uk offers advice and publishes guidance relevant to local authorities' corporate procurement, including 'Procurement Essentials' which gives guidance to help authorities meet the requirements of the National Procurement Strategy for Local Government in England. It has a procurement section with downloadable publications and case studies: subjects include the efficiency review, eProcurement and the National Procurement Strategy.

The in-Control programme www.in-control.org.uk is a national programme which aims to change the organisation of social care in England so that people can take better control of their own lives - Self-Directed Support. In-Control has developed a whole-system approach to Self-Directed Support, with policies and procedures for resource allocation, support planning, supported decision making etc. Although originally focused on people with learning disabilities, in-Control's system of Self-Directed Support is designed for everyone who uses social care support.

The Information Centre for Health and Social Care www.knowledge.ic.nhs.uk is a special health authority providing facts and figures to help the NHS and social services run effectively. It works with NHS providers, suppliers and academics to provide products, services and standards that support the sharing and most efficient and effective use of information, strengthens decision-making, widens patient's choice and improves infrastructure. A major new project to support commissioning is Integrating Information for Older People which analyses the range of information held by the Centre on this key client group across health, social care and other services.

The Integrated Care Network (ICN) provides advice and information relating to the realities of joint working, with particular reference to health and social care. ICN hosts the Housing LIN http://www.integratedcarenetwork.gov.uk/housing/index.cfm?pid=161 which has events, fact sheets, a bright ideas database, and publishes reports and best practice guidance, including the 'Extra Care Housing Toolkit'.

The Kings Fund www.kingsfund.org.uk organises events and publishes reports relevant to health and social care services, especially in London, including 'Commissioning Care Services for Older People', 'Mental Health Service Activity in London' and 'Regulating Health Care'.

Laing & Buisson www.laingbuisson.co.uk/ is an independent company that provides data, statistics, analysis and market intelligence on the UK health, community care and child care sectors. Information is provided via newsletters, conferences and reports, which are available to purchase.

The Making Ends Meet website has six modules, one of which is about commissioning children's services and adult social care services. It has definitions and models of commissioning and some notable practice examples.

The National Library for Health http://www.library.nhs.uk/Default.aspx has a health management specialist health library and information service at http://www.library.nhs.uk/healthmanagement/. It includes news and briefings on a number of topics including care pathways, health impact assessment, managing long-term conditions, Payment by Results, and social enterprise.

The National Treatment Agency (NTA) for Substance Misuse www.nta.nhs.uk aims to increase the availability, capacity and effectiveness of treatment for drug misuse in England. The site includes details of the NTA's work programme as well as publications and guidance such as 'Models of Care' for the treatment of both drug and alcohol misusers and 'Commissioning for Drug Treatment Systems: resource pack for commissioners'.

The NHS Confederation www.nhsconfed.org has produced briefings that will assist commissioners to understand the design principles that could be used to develop practice based commissioning organisations that are fit for purpose.

The NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement www.institute.nhs.uk supports the NHS to transform healthcare for patients and the public by developing and spreading new ways of working, new technology and world class leadership. It offers advisory publications, training courses and support services to professionals working at all levels within the NHS. The Opportunity Locator User Guide, for example, is a data tool for PCT Directors and Heads of Commissioning who are looking to develop their commissioning plans to support the 'care closer to home' agenda.

NHS networks www.networks.nhs.uk/1.php is an independent network that provides a means of connecting the many networks which exist in the NHS. It links to the Primary Care Contracting web-site and brings together resources and information to help implement the new primary care contracting arrangements. Advisers also help disseminate good practice especially change drivers in primary care.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) www.nice.org.uk provides guidance on the promotion of good health and the prevention and treatment of ill health. Downloadable publications include 'Health Needs Assessment - A Practical Guide'. NICE also provides topic-specific, web-based commissioning guides, each containing a 'commissioning tool', which is an interactive resource that can be used to estimate and inform the level of service needed locally as well as the cost of local commissioning decisions.

The National Mental Health Development Unit supports the implementation of positive change in mental health services through regional networks and national programmes and projects.

The NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency www.pasa.nhs.uk/PASAweb acts as a centre of expertise, knowledge and excellence in purchasing and supply for the health service.

The North West Public Health Observatory at http://www.nwph.net/nwpho offers a range of local public health intelligence and links to national datasets. NWPHO holds datasets of hospital episode, mortality and birth statistics as well as geographic and demographic information, and makes them available via interactive web-based tools. Local health profiles are available for any postcode in the North West, and downloadable articles and regular reports are also produced.

The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) www.ogc.gov.uk offers advice and publishes guidance on subjects such as the efficiency review, EU procurement and the Gateway Process, including 'Early Market Engagement: principles and tools of good practice', 'Think Smart, Think Voluntary Sector! Good Practice Guidance on Procurement of Services from the Voluntary and Community Sector' and 'EU Procurement Guidance: introduction to the EU procurement rules' www.ogc.gov.uk/procurement_documents_procurement_policy_and_practice.asp.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) www.oft.gov.uk has several relevant market publications, including 'Care Homes for Older People in the UK' and 'Guidance on Unfair Terms in Care Home Contracts'.

The Primary Care Commissioning, Commissioning Excellence website supports the development of primary care across all PCTs in England. The team has produced a practice-based commissioning toolkit and briefing sheets on specific areas.

The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health www.scmh.org.uk works to improve the quality of life for people with mental health problems. It undertakes research, development and training work to influence policy and practice in health and social care, and its downloadable publications include 'Commissioning Mental Health Services' and 'Introduction to User Involvement'.

Social Care Online www.scie-socialcareonline.org.uk is a free service from the Social Care Institute for Excellence which provides a range of information, materials and research on all aspects of social care. It has a wide range of materials relating to commissioning including: good practice guidance; research reports and briefings; policy documents; training materials and journal articles. The website also incorporates the Electronic Library for Social Care (eLSC) and CareData.

 

The Treasury www.hm-treasury.gov.uk is the UK's economic and finance ministry responsible for formulating and implementing the government's financial and economic policy. The website has details of a number of relevant policy areas, and offers access to information and publications such as 'Social Issues in Purchasing'.

The UK Home Care Association Ltd www.ukhca.co.uk provides information and publications relevant to home care provision nationwide. These include 'Commissioning Home Care' and 'Changing Practice: Delivering Quality?'

The Valuing People Support Team website www.valuingpeople.gov.uk is a good resource for all things relating to learning disability. It has a section of resources for commissioners and providers including 'Person Centred Approaches: a good practice checklist for commissioners'.

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