North East London Commissioning Alliance

The seven north east London (NEL) CCGs - City and Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge – are working together as a commissioning alliance to develop an aligned approach to working with providers to ensure long-term sustainability

NHS Barking and Dagenham CCG will continue to decide how most of the local NHS services are commissioned. However, where it makes sense, and is in the best interest of patients, the seven CCGs are joining up to work together. When they do this, they are known as the NHS North East London Commissioning Alliance (the Alliance).

This will also help to create better, more integrated care. Working together means CCGs can pool resources, share good practice and free up time to build on the progress already made locally to integrate health and social care. It will help make sure the system is as efficient as it can be and that patients and residents north east London are getting the most out of every pound invested in their NHS.

CCGs remain legally accountable for the delivery of their responsibilities and the new arrangements do not change that. Individual CCGs remain responsible for joint commissioning with local authorities, with most of the CCG activity taking place at the borough level – whether this is integrating services with local councils, redesigning key pathways or delivering services at a neighbourhood level.

The vast majority of what CCGs do will continue to be locally led, working closely with local people and communities, the local council and the voluntary sector.  This will especially relate to working in partnership to develop plans to improve local health outcomes.

But by working together as an Alliance the CCGs will:

• Harness the benefits of greater collaboration across the system with CCGs, other NHS organisations, local authorities and the voluntary and community sector working closer together
• Reduce duplication by adopting common approaches and doing things once where it is appropriate and beneficial to do so. Some things are done really well in north east London, and this is an opportunity to learn from each other and share best practice.
• Make sure that commissioning is truly integrated around local people and will improve both services and health outcomes
• Will really drive and improve outcomes for people who live and work across north east London. 

At a north east London level, it is expected that the seven CCGs will work together to:

• Commission services jointly – e.g. London Ambulance Service and integrated urgent care, specialist commissioning
• Align commissioning strategies (e.g. urgent and emergency care, mental health, planned care)
• Harmonise assurance processes

As part of these changes, NEL CCGs have appointed one accountable officer across the seven CCGs. This post is held by Jane Milligan, whose role is to provide clear system leadership, look at strategic planning across north east London and coordinate the CCGs’ work to improve services and health outcomes for all local people, while supporting the strong desire to build sustainable local Integrated Care Systems.

NEL Joint Commissioning Committee (JCC)

A major part of the new arrangements is setting up the new NEL Joint Commissioning Committee (JCC). This will discuss items common to all CCGs – for example, how the CCGs make sure that its urgent care works in a similar way or their contracting with hospitals.  For a limited number of areas, it will also take decisions on services that are commissioned once for NEL.  The first formal JCC meeting in public takes place in May 2018.

Waltham Forest CCG chair Anwar Khan is chair of the Joint Commissioning Committee, while Barking and Dagenham CCG vice chair, Kash Pandya, has been appointed as lay member and vice chair of the JCC.

Page last updated 01 May 2018