Effective Commissioning in Health and Social Care

It is essential that in today's public sector, social care and health managers have a thorough and critical understanding of best practice in commissioning services. This guide has been developed to underpin core aspects of commissioning services in health and social care with tools and strategies that really work. The authors go through the commissioning process step-by-step in order to help the reader better understand the following: ·  The distinguishing characteristics of commissioning ; ·  how commissioning is affected by changes in the public sector generally and health and social care in particular;     ·  the significant potential for improved service quality and value for money arising from commissioning;  ·  how good commissioning can engage in productive conversations that can lead to better outcomes for patients, clients and the community.

IntroductionIntroduction to commissioning What is commissioning? Key roles Benefits from commissioning Commissioning compared with other management processes Where does commissioning come from? Successful commissioning - collaboration The commissioning process - a model Commissioning - a new model What skills are needed?Commissioning in the NHS The development of commissioning in the NHS The new health environment The journey to authorisation The challenges of commissioning in this sectorCommissioning in adult social care The development of commissioning in adult social care Government actions A developing view of adult social care The role of local authorities The challenges of commissioning in this sectorKey challenges for health and social care Comparison between the NHS and social care systems The specific challenges facing the NHS and social care What questions do we need to answer?Conclusion