Health and Social Care Board / Local Commissioning Groups

Overview

The Health and Social Care Board for Northern Ireland focusses on commissioning, resource management and performance management and improvement. It will identify and meet the needs of the local population through its five Local Commissioning Groups that will cover the same geographical area as the HSC Trusts. See more information here

A Business Services Organisation will provide a range of support functions for the whole of the health and social care system.

The Board’s key functions will include:

In line with Ministerial objectives, ensuring effective commissioning to secure the provision of health and social services and other related interventions that address the needs of people from pre-conception to death. Commissioning plans will be developed in close partnership with the Public Health Agency and through a ‘commissioning cycle’ that moves through:

1. Assessing needs
2. Strategic planning
3. Priority setting
4. Securing resources to address needs,
5. Agreeing with providers the delivery of appropriate services
6. Monitoring that delivery
7. Assuring that the safety and quality of services commissioned are improving
8. That recommendations from Regional Quality Improvement Agency (RQIA) and other reviews have been implemented and
9. That as a minimum, services meet DHSSPS and other recognised standards
10. Evaluating impact and feeding back that assessment into the new baseline position in terms of how needs have changed
    

The efficient, effective and appropriate use of delegated funding of some £4bn per annum to meet agreed objectives in line with Ministerial objectives and Department policy in order to maximise access to quality and safe services and reduce unnecessary bureaucracy.

Establishing arrangements at a regional and local level that ensures close strategic and operational partnership with key stakeholders both within the HSC and wider public sector in meeting the objectives of the Board and proactively engages and informs local communities and the voluntary and community sectors on the work of the Board;

Facilitating and supporting Local Commissioning Groups in their role of achieving effective locality based commissioning, managing their performance, and holding them to account so that they can exercise their devolved authority within an effective framework of regional priorities and standards;

Local Commissioning Groups

• Belfast LCG
• Northern LCG
• South Eastern LCG
• Southern LCG
• Western LCG

Within the devolved authority of the HSCB, Local Commissioning Groups will be aligned to the boundaries of the existing HSC Trusts though this will remain subject to review pending the outcome of local government reform. They will:

• Improve the health and social well-being of people in the area for which they are responsible
• Plan and commission health and social care to meet the needs of people in that area
• Secure the delivery to people in that area of health and social care that is safe, efficient, co-ordinated and cost-effective
• Improve the availability and quality of health and social care in that area
• Establish arrangements that ensure close strategic and operational partnership with key stakeholders both within the HSC and wider public sector in meeting the objectives of the LCG and proactively engages and inform local communities and the voluntary and community sectors of their work
• Contribute to the development of standards, guidance and strategic targets
• Contribute to the development of regional commissioning plans and local targets
• Assess local needs and capacity and identify local priorities within the overall strategic outcomes to be achieved
• Negotiate service and budget arrangements with providers, applying principles of “choice” and “money following service” to determine which providers can provide services most effectively and economically, while ensuring that regional and local targets set by the Minister, Department, the HSCB and PHA are met
• Put in place strong governance arrangements covering contractual responsibilities, incentives, quality and patient satisfaction to ensure that targets and expectations are met; and
• Contribute to the central data collection and performance information processes