DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
News Release (2007/0288) issued by The Government News Network on 5
October 2007
The Department of
Health today announced the names of fourteen organisations
appointed to offer support services to the NHS through a new
agreement, known as the Framework for procuring External Support
for Commissioners (FESC).
The framework is comprised of organisations, which have undergone
a robust pre-qualification process, and will offer a menu of
services such as data analysis and contract management expertise
to Primary Care Trusts (PCTs). The organisations on the FESC will
not deal with the delivery of direct patient care.
Although a number of PCTs already seek external support in
undertaking their commissioning activities, it is expected that
the framework will provide easy access to a bank of specialist
expertise. The FESC suppliers have been appointed by the
Department of Health on the basis of their technical and
commercial ability to deliver a range of appropriate services.
Health Minister Ivan Lewis said,
"This new guidance will allow Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) to
benefit from a bank of knowledge already built up through the
Department of Health procurement process. PCTs will be able to
work with organisations that are already known and trusted, which
will enable them to concentrate their efforts and expertise on
providing patient care.
"Of course, it will be up to PCTs to decide if they want to
use suppliers within the framework and if they choose to do so,
PCTs will remain fully responsible and accountable for managing
the services provided."
A typical example of the kind of service which could be provided
by one of the organisations appointed to the framework would be in
the delivery of data analysis services to help PCTs assess the
specific community needs of the local population, analyse trends
and pinpoint areas of particular need.
As well as providing a panel of expert suppliers, the framework
is expected to help PCTs obtain the best value for money by
minimising resource and cost implications associated with
conducting procurement activities, which some PCTs face when
trying to obtain external support.
FESC will form one part of the Department's wider world
class commissioning programme which will be developed in the Autumn.
The Department also confirmed that NHS patients in Cumbria and
Lancashire will benefit from reduced waiting times and more choice
as a new partnership with the independent provider Capio to
deliver health services in the North West reached financial close,
with the first services expected to commence in November 2007.
As part of the ongoing programme of creating a diverse network of
providers in the NHS, the Department today placed an advert in the
Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) inviting independent
sector providers to join a network of providers to run alongside
the existing Extended Choice Network.
The Government is committed to extending choice for patients so
that by April 2008 any patient who is referred for elective care
can choose from any hospital across the country which meets NHS
standards and costs ('free choice'). However, ahead of
April 2008, from December this year, a free choice will now be
extended to patients referred for General Surgery, Gynaecology and
Cardiology enabling people to choose from any hospital nationally
for their treatment.
Notes to editors
1. The following organisations have been selected for inclusion
on the FESC:
Aetna Health Services (UK) Limited
AXA PPP Healthcare Administration Services Limited
BUPA Membership Commissioning Limited
CHKS Ltd, trading as Partners In Commissioning
Dr Foster Limited, trading as Dr Foster Intelligence
Health Dialog Services Corporation
Humana Europe, Ltd
KPMG LLP
McKesson Information Solutions UK Limited
McKinsey & Company, Inc. United Kingdom
Navigant Consulting, Inc
Tribal Consulting Limited
UnitedHealth Europe Limited
WG Consulting Healthcare Limited, Trading As WG Consulting
2. The PCT will always have a retained management function to
oversee the supplier and the PCT will always itself retain
commissioning experience and expertise. A FESC appointed
commissioning supplier cannot be a provider of clinical services
in the same PCT area.
4. The DH and PCTs will retain the right to ensure that Bidders
will not be appointed to supply services where there is a conflict
unless the DH and PCT are fully satisfied that this conflict can
be effectively managed and the interests of patients and
healthcare are not compromised. It is important to note that PCTs
may still decide to undertake procurement independently outside of
the national framework.
6. Several PCTs have identified the possibility of using FESC to
support part of their commissioning activities. These potential
pilots are: Ashton, Leigh & Wigan PCT, Cambridgeshire PCT ,
East of England SHA, Hampshire PCT, Hillingdon PCT, North East
Lincolnshire PCT, West Midlands CBSA. .
7. Full details of the framework can be found at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/publications
8. Capio has been awarded the five-year contract for the Cumbria
and Lancashire Phase 12 Electives Scheme of the Independent Sector
Treatment Centre (ISTC) Programme by the Department of Health.
9. Capio was selected as it was considered to provide the best
service delivery model, satisfactorily met the performance
criteria outlined as part of the procurement process, and were
considered to provide value for money within the affordability threshold.
[ENDS]