The new NHS: clinical commissioning groups
Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are the cornerstone of the new health system. Each of the 8,000 GP practices in England is now part of a CCG. There are 211 CCGs altogether, commissioning care for an average of 226,000 people each.
CCGs will commission the majority of health services, including emergency care, elective hospital care, maternity services, and community and mental health services. In 2013/14 they will be responsible for a budget of £65 billion, around 60 per cent of the total NHS budget.
Related publications
Transforming our health care system: ten priorities for commissioners
We set out ten priorities for health care commissioners to help them deliver a sustainable system in a challenging environment.
Written for NAPC and KPMG, this introductory guide to good governance for CCGs aims to help them take their first steps towards authorisation.
Commissioning for the future: learning from a simulation of the health system in 2013/14
The NHS reforms set out could have wide ramifications, particularly for GPs. What outcomes could these reforms have on the future of the health system?
Related blogs
Clinical commissioning groups: a north-south divide?
The hard work and long hours put in by GPs and managers in setting up CCGs have, so far, paid off. All 211 CCGs took control of their commissioning budgets on 1 April 2013.
Clinical commissioning groups: what do we know so far?
CCGs have come several steps closer to taking over £65bn of NHS spending. Chris Naylor asks how will they support the development of a new approach to commissioning.
CCGs and PCTs - not so different after all?
Chris Naylor writes that there will be important differences between CCGs and PCTs. But in terms of the population size they will cover, are they looking increasingly similar?
External articles
10 priorities for commissioners from April
As commissioning groups take on new responsibilites, Candace Imison sets out the top priorities for commissioners in her article for the Health Service Journal.
Commissioning support unit structures and how will they operate
Veronika Thiel writes in the Health Service Journal that commissioning support units are set to take on important functions in the NHS structure.