Secretary of State for Health Andrew Lansley set out the government's plans to reform the NHS in the White Paper Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS. One of his flagship policies is the devolution of power and budgetary responsibility for the commissioning of NHS services to GP consortia. The ambition behind this policy is to achieve a clinically led and more patient-focused NHS, yet the key lesson of the past decade is that the impact of these reforms will depend on how effectively they are implemented. Our conference will explore the challenges of implementing GP commissioning and how it can be effectively translated into practice.

The conference will include examples from GP practices and consortia that have been leading the way in innovative practice. We will help you to think about the key factors required for establishing effective and successful GP commissioning.

Key topics include:

• understanding the building blocks of commissioning
• referral management and quality improvement
• establishing effective and successful GP commissioning consortia
• moving clinicians to the heart of the decision-making.

Opening session

• Keynote address
  Lord Howe, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Quality, Department of Health
• GP commissioning
  Dr Shane Gordon, GP and Chief Executive, Colchester PBC
  

Session two: perspectives on GP commissioning

• Understanding GP budget holding: evidence from the US and from the NHS
  Professor Chris Ham, Chief Executive, The King's Fund
• GP commissioning: the role of external support
  Dr Richard Lewis, Partner, UK and Ireland Advisory Services, Ernst & Young
  Katherine Ward, Chief Executive, UnitedHealth UK
• PCT perspective on budget holding: managing the transition
  Paul Zollinger-Read, Chief Executive, NHS Cambridgeshire

Session three: Workshops - making it happen

1. Managing demand and re-designing services: a city-wide primary care collaborative
   Dr Peter Devlin, Clinical Director, Brighton and Hove Integrated Care Service Limited
2. GP commissioning and public health
   Paul Edmondson-Jones MBE, Director of Public Health and Primary Care, Portsmouth City Teaching Primary Care Trust and Portsmouth County Council
3. Creating clinically-led integrated care services
   Dr William Lumb, GP and Board Member, Westmoreland Primary Care Collaborative
4. How to create federated models to take on commissioning
   Candace Imison, Deputy Director of Policy, The King's Fund and Dr Nick Goodwin, Senior Fellow, Policy, The King's Fund

Panel session: key factors for establishing effective and successful GP commissioning

Expert speakers will include:

• Ian Dodge, Director, Policy Support Unit, Department of Health
• Professor Steve Field, GP and Chair, Royal College of General Practitioners
• Dr Judith Smith, Head of Policy, The Nuffield Trust
  
  

Keynote speaker

• Lord Howe, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Quality (Department of Health)

Speakers will include the following:

• Dr Peter Devlin, Clinical Director, Brighton and Hove Integrated Care Service Ltd
• Ian Dodge, Director, Policy Support Unit, Department of Health
• Paul Edmondson-Jones MBE, Director of Public Health and Primary Care, Portsmouth City Teaching Primary Care Trust and Portsmouth County Council
• Professor Steve Field, GP and Chair, Royal College of General Practitioners
• Dr Nick Goodwin, Senior Fellow, Policy, The King's Fund
• Dr Shane Gordon, GP and Chief Executive, Colchester PBC 
• Professor Chris Ham, Chief Executive, The King's Fund
• Candice Imison, Deputy Director of Policy, The King's Fund
• Dr Richard Lewis, Partner, UK and Ireland Advisory Services, Ernst & Young
• Dr  William Lumb, GP and Board Member, Westmoreland Primary Care Collaborative
• Paul Zollinger-Read, Chief Executive, NHS Cambridgeshire
• Dr Judith Smith, Head of Policy, The Nuffield Trust
• Katherine Ward, Chief Executive, UnitedHealth UK

• practice-based commissioning development managers and leads
• those involved in service development in primary and acute care
• GPs and practice managers
• chief executives and chairs of primary care trusts
• directors of commissioning, primary care trusts
• senior clinicians
• independent and voluntary sector providers