Kings Fund, Nuffield Trust, 25 January 2015
- A report which considers how CCGs are functioning as membership organisations and how they are supporting the development of primary care in their local area has concluded that CCGs risk becoming unsustainable without changes to the way they attract leaders and adequate funding to help them expand their remit.
- The research included a survey, interviews, observations and reviews of CCG board papers.
- The report authors found that:
- CCG leaders questioned whether they had sufficient capacity to expand into primary care commissioning.
- While the majority of CCG leaders felt that conflicts of interest were being managed adequately, researchers highlighted examples of decisions where there was the potential for conflict.
- Few GPs felt that managing GP performance – something that contract management responsibilities under co-commissioning may lead to – was an appropriate role for CCGs.
- The study outlines a number of key recommendations to CCG leaders and NHS England to assist CCGs in making the transition to co-commissioning and ensure the sustainability of CCGs.
