Individual funding requests - FOI analysis

Individual funding requests
Ethical Decision Making June 2019

• An analysis of data obtained through a Freedom of Information Request sent to all CCGs to gather information about the four stages of their individual funding request (IFR) process. This report has been produced in response to an article that was published in the British Medical Journal in July 2017 entitled: Pressure on NHS finances drives new wave of postcode rationing (BMJ 2017;358:j3190).

Consultation on contracting arrangements for Integrated Care Providers

Consultation on contracting arrangements for Integrated Care Providers (ICPs)

NHS England 3 August 2018

• The consultation provides more detail about how the proposed ICP Contract would underpin integration between services, how it differs from existing NHS contracts, how ICPs fit into the broader commissioning system, and which organisations could hold the ICP Contract.
• Consultation period runs from 3 August to 26 October 2018.
• Documents include:
• The Draft ICP contract
• Particulars
• Service Conditions
• General Conditions
• Explanatory notes to the draft ICP Contract
• Draft Directions
• Draft template GP Integration Agreement
• GP Integration Agreement FAQs
• Draft Equality and Health Inequalities Analysis
• CCG roles where ICPs are established (clarification of the policy positions around: whether ICPs are allowed to manage third party contracts; and the handling of Individual Funding Requests.
• An overview of integrated budgets
• Incentives framework for ICPs

Developing the NHS long term plan: evidence based interventions

Developing the NHS long term plan: evidence based interventions
NHS England Board paper 4 July 2018

• NHS England will consult on the Evidence-Based Interventions programme, developed and jointly led by NHS England, NICE, NHS Improvement, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, and NHS Clinical Commissioners. 
• The focus of the programme is on surgical interventions commissioned by CCGs, where there was high variability in the application of clinical guidelines. 
• Priority was given to changes which could test the approach and implement relatively quickly on a large scale. 
• The consultation proposes that four interventions (Category 1) that should no longer be routinely commissioned by CCGs unless accompanied by a successful Individual Funding Request (IFR) and 13 interventions (Category 2) that should only be commissioned by CCGs or performed when specific evidence based clinical criteria are met. It is proposed that Category 1 interventions will be set at zero tariff in National Tariff without a successful IFR. 

Pressure on NHS finances drives new wave of postcode rationing

Pressure on NHS finances drives new wave of postcode rationing
BMJ 2017;358:j3190

• An investigation by The BMJ has shown stark local variation in the number of exceptional funding requests that doctors in England are having to make on behalf of their patients, and the types of treatment being restricted.
• The analysis shows that the overall number of individual funding requests (IFRs) received by clinical commissioning groups in England increased by 47% in the past four years.

Update on responsibilities around EU cross border healthcare

European cross border healthcare
NHS England, June 2014

• Revised information for commissioners on EU cross border healthcare including a table giving detailed roles and responsibilities of the organisations involved in European cross border healthcare.
• NHS commissioners are responsible for: 
• Providing information on patient entitlements within 7 working days of the request (which may come directly from a patient or from the European Team); 
• Publishing information on patient entitlements (see ‘Information on entitlements’ below for more details); 
• Refunding NHS England’s Leicestershire and Lincolnshire area team for reimbursements made to patients under the Directive route, when identified as the responsible commissioner. 
• Includes an outline of the interaction with Individual Funding Request (IFR) processes.