We value the important principles that the NHS was founded on: healthcare free at the point of use, funded from general taxation, and available to all based on need and not their ability to pay.
To provide transparency and to allow the people to hold public bodies such as the CCGs to account, we now publish information relating to all expenditure over £25,000 every month. ‘Expenditure’ includes all individual invoices, grant payments, expense payments, payments to GPs and other such transactions. Payments to staff are not included in this disclosure.
How we decide what to spend your money on
As CCGs we work closely with healthcare providers to ensure they are providing safe, high quality services. We also work very closely with local authorities and the voluntary sector to ensure services are integrated and meet the needs of patients and their families.
Each year commissioners at the CCGs work with clinical leads and service providers to develop commissioning intentions and aspirations to be taken forward into the following financial year.
Commissioning intentions are defined as things we’ve already developed or can develop for implementation for the beginning of the new financial year. Commissioning aspirations are defined as things we’ve partially developed or will develop for implementation during the financial year. Both these intentions and aspirations are developed in line with national or local policy or where a need in service provision has been identified.
Once a commissioning intention/aspiration is identified it is scored based on a number of indicators and is then prioritised alongside all the other intentions and aspirations.
An independent evaluation panel, which includes patient participation group representation, reviews the scoring given to the commissioning intentions and aspirations in order to ensure transparency and avoid any bias with regard to the service development.
Where the commissioning intention or aspiration relates to an existing provider, these are taken forward as part of contract negotiations.
What we don’t pay for
To ensure that we can provide the best care for the maximum number of people, it is vital that we make every penny count.
Carrying out operations and medical procedures that are not of great health benefit uses up resources that could be spent on really making a difference elsewhere. This is why doctors and health professionals across Lancashire have put together a list of procedures that the NHS does not carry out, as well as others that are only carried out if patients meet special criteria or during exceptional circumstances. By way of example, we don’t generally carry out operations or procedures to treat hair loss or remove tattoos for cosmetic reasons.
You can obtain a copy of the full list from your doctor, or view it on the policies page.
It is important to remember though that, while the NHS does not generally fund operations that have little health benefit in general, there are times when there may be overwhelming health benefits for an individual patient.
If this is the case, your doctor, on your behalf, will explain the exceptional circumstances to a request panel consisting of doctors and other health experts here at the CCGs, and a decision will be reached on an individual, case-by-case basis.