They aim to ensure a closer relationship between local people, commissioners and commissioning decisions.
Who is involved in Clinical Commissioning Groups?
CCGs are commissioning organisations formed from general medical practices and fundamentally old Primary Care Trusts (PCTs). All GP practices are required to join a CCG and they hold the CCG to account for decisions made on their behalf. Alongside that, other health professionals from other health sectors help to manage CCGs and the programme of work.
CCGs have to involve patients, carers, the public and a wide range of doctors, nurses, and other health and care professionals in their commissioning work.
How are they accountable?
CCGs are assessed for accountability and transparency by NHS England on an ongoing basis.
It is the CCGs, and the CSUs (see below) they contract with, that LOCs will need to work with when it comes to designing and implementing new local eye health services, or reviewing existing enhanced services.
Each CCG has a chair to provide clinical leadership and an accountable officer (either a senior manager or a clinician).
Commissioning Support Units (CSUs)
To ensure that CCGs devote as much of their budget as possible to frontline care, they are able to use CSUs to provide many back-office commissioning support functions and services such as business intelligence and procurement. Some CCGs also call upon CSUs to provide other functions such as HR and finance.
LOCSU Optical Leads work with LOCs and commissioners to help redesign eye health pathways. Contact us to connect with your relevant optical lead.
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