Practice Based Commissioning

GPs Work Together To Bring More Benefits To Patients

Practice Based Commissioning is a government policy which devolves responsibility for commissioning services from Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) to local GP practices.

Under Practice Based Commissioning, practices will be given a commissioning budget which they will have the responsibility for using in order to provide services. This will involve:

  • identifying patient needs
  • designing effective and appropriate health service responses to those needs
Practice Based Commissioning – What does it mean?

GP practices across Oxfordshire have been achieving real change through the Practice Based Commissioning (PBC) scheme introduced in 2005. 

Under the scheme GPs and clinicians have been looking for ways to develop services within primary care so that those patients who don’t necessarily need to be seen in a hospital can be seen and treated locally.  

Most practices across the county have joined with their neighbouring practices to form local Consortia, and there are six of these groups across Oxfordshire:

  • Oxford City Consortium – covering Oxford city practices
  • South East Consortium – covering Henley and environs
  • West Oxfordshire Locality Group – covering the District Council area
  • Vale Consortium – covering Vale of White Horse District Council area
  • North Oxfordshire Commissioning Consortium – covering Banbury and surrounding practices
  • North East Consortium – covering Bicester area, Kidlington, Islip and Woodstock

These Consortia share best practice and enable new initiatives to be piloted across a wider group of patients.   Those practices who are not part of a consortium are working together with NHS Oxfordshire.

Practices and Consortia have submitted their plans for 2007/08 and each plan will focus on four of the following six areas:

  • Assisting in the redesign of patient pathways to enable an 18 week wait from referral to treatment to be achieved
  • Activity reductions within hospital to enable patients to be seen locally
  • Making progress on health inequalities, e.g. smoking, obesity etc.
  • Prescribing changes to more cost effective generic drugs where appropriate for patients
  • Continuing development of anticipatory Case Management to enable more patients to be cared for in their own homes and where possible avoid unnecessary admissions to hospital by working in a more joined up manner
  • Looking at patients with long term conditions to see how their care can be managed better locally, if appropriate.

To help with these changes GP practices are managing budgets locally so that they have more control over the services their patients need, and NHS Oxfordshire (PCT) is supporting them in this work.  Some practices across Oxfordshire have generated savings from 2006/07, and will be submitting plans to NHS Oxfordshire to reinvest these back into improving local services for patients.

Whilst GPs are leading the PBC work, there is also input from many other professionals, ranging from NHS Oxfordshire and hospital staff, to Social Care Services, nursing staff in all areas, opticians, pharmacists, dentists, practice managers, physiotherapists, podiatrists and many others. 

What we can’t do without is patient input to these changes, and NHS Oxfordshire and practices are looking at how we can gain best input from our existing patient groups, and how to encourage wider public involvement as well.

If you would like to know about how you can be involved please contact: communications@oxfordshirepct.nhs.uk