Knowsley Primary and Social Care Joint Commissioning Team

What we do

• We buy services through a contracting process.
• This involves agreeing health and social care services which a provider (such as an NHS Trust or voluntary/independent organisations) will provide for a specified sum of money from a pooled budget established from health and social care departments
• We then monitor the contract to ensure that the service user is receiving the optimum level of service and that the service is providing best value for money

The Knowsley Local Implementation Team is represented by;

• Service Users
• Service User representative (Voices in Partnership)
• Knowsley Carers
• Carer representative
• Chair of Knowsley metropolitan Borough Council Health & Social Care Scrutiny Committee
• Non-executive Member of Knowsley Primary Care Trust
• Knowsley Social Services – (Assistant Director – Adults of Working Age)
• Voluntary and independent sector representative
• Executive level representation from 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Trust
• Senior Manager representation from Mersey Care NHS Trust
• Lead Commissioner for Mental Health Knowsley Social Services/Primary Care Trust
• Public Health lead Knowsley Primary Care Trust

The aim of the LIT is

To provide a vehicle for the provision of adult mental health services to be openly and honestly discussed, and for development to be planned between all key stakeholders, including users, carers, the voluntary sector and statutory providers.

Terms of Reference

• The Knowsley Local implementation Team is the primary vehicle for delivery of the Mental Health National Service Framework
• The Local implementation Team is accountable to the Knowsley modernisation board for service delivery and development in the field of adult mental health
• To make strong recommendations to commissioning bodies re: future funding and service developments
• To improve the quality of life for service users and carers, via target setting, including the development of local performance indicators
• To develop a ‘shared’ vision of the direction and development of adult mental health services in the Knowsley
• To act as a catalyst for the formation and monitoring of local delivery plans within the framework of the national Mental Health policy agenda
• To oversee delivery of the Mental Health National Service Framework and NHS Plan
• To set priorities for service development
• To disseminate and share information, including receipt of regular updates as to progress from representatives of the sub-groups
• To performance monitor progress, with the aim of continuous improvement of services
• To receive and take account of feedback from all relevant stakeholders at all levels, ensuring an equal voice for all stakeholders
• To take account of the interaction, and to make and develop appropriate connections with other parts of the service, particularly CAMHS and EMI services
• To ensure appropriate representation and links with Modernisation Executive Board are maintained, and information is disseminated between the two groups
• To work together to ensure that mental health remains a high priority within Knowsley overall Modernisation structure and with the community as a whole
• To ensure links with the Strategic Health Authority, Social Services Inspectorate and Department of Health are maintained, and that reporting requirements to these bodies are met
• To alert relevant statutory bodies to potential risks, delays or non-achievement of targets
• To act as a co-ordinating body, ensuring communication is timely and meaningful
• To ensure co-ordination of service planning, delivery and evaluation across all service providers.
• To seek out opportunities to work jointly with neighbouring localities to avoid duplication and create leadership across a larger patch.

The Local Implementation Team meeting takes place on a monthly basis and meets for approximately 2 hours and all LIT members are required to contribute to the agenda.

For further details contact:

Colin Vose (LIT Chair), CSIU Building, 193 Liverpool Road, Huyton, Knowsley

Tel: 0151 443 3344

Population Needs Assessment

• A long term forecast, looking ten years ahead, at the health needs of the local community
• Multi disciplinary task that requires inputs from public health specialists, primary care clinicians, information specialists, finance professional and general managers.
• It should be developed with full contributions from the community, the voluntary sector and the relevant local authority(s) responsible for the social and economic well being.
• Consideration should be made to involve other relevant PCTs in the health system.
• Demographic change including changes in the age profile and the social deprivation and economic well being of the community.
• Changes in morbidity, for example increases in the incidence of particular clinical conditions e.g. asthma, obesity.
• Health inequalities, by identifying differential needs of different areas and groups, differential rates of access and health outcomes,
• Changes in medical technology, including new drugs. It is important to identify technology changes that are likely to make treatment accessible to a greater proportion of the community.
• Local access rates (per ‘000 weighted population) and disease prevalence rates trends should be compared with other PCTs and national averages and that should inform forecasts of future needs.
• Possible reductions in care needs should also be forecast, as these will reduce the future volume of care required

Policy Analysis

Consider :

• National policy and targets e.g NHS Plan,
• National Service Framework
• Primary Care Local Delivery Plans
• Local Authority Local Delivery Plans
• Community Plans

Vision and Objectives

• The vision sets the direction of travel for services and it should influence all the resultant shorter term decisions and in year changes to ensure progress is made in the right direction. It will be influenced by a wide range of factors including:
• national policy & targets
• national service frameworks
• guidance from the National Commission for Clinical Excellence
• health needs analysis
• the policies of partner agencies (particularly local government)
• the existing pattern of services
• redesigned care pathways
• clinical networks
• the views and preferences of local people and
• the expert knowledge and opinion of clinical and management staff in the local health community.
• The vision is likely to comprise a short list of principles and value judgements about future direction

Strategic Planning

• National / Local Targets – consider these in line with the Needs Assessment
• Current pattern of services – a summary of the current services
• Capacity Planning – the national model should be used to forecast demand and capacity in the light of the needs assessment and the current pattern of services.
• Compatibility of current/future service provision to local need

Monitoring and Review

• Comparative Performance – should be reviewed to ensure the community is receiving the optimum levels of service and that services, both commissioned and directly provided, represent value for money.
• Reviews take the form of a quarterly meeting between purchaser and provider. The contract/service level agreement would provide the agenda.

Refine Service or Change

• Following a review of the service, agreed changes in the service would be reflected in the Contract / SLA documentation.
• If however these changes cannot be brought about by the current provider, the commissioning team may look to other providers to provide the service which meets local need.