Health Select Committee publishes report into Commissioning
The Health Select Committee has published its report on Commissioning. The report looks into the purchaser/provider split in the NHS and can be found here.
The report argues that the purchaser/provider split may need to be abolished in the NHS if the current commissioning arrangements prove to be uneconomic. It argues that managers in the NHS have too little control over costs and staffing levels and that they are complacent about their ability to carry out effective commissioning. The report also argues that managers of Primary Care Trusts may lack the skills they need to carry out commissioning properly.
The report contains a section on specialised commissioning for rare diseases. In this section it is stated that progress has been made since the Carter Review into specialised commissioning but that the sector is not properly regulated or scrutinised, and also that it may be a target for cuts after the forthcoming election.