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The inaugural meeting of the Health Care Professionals’ (HCP) Commissioning Network has taken place this week in an attempt to open up the influence on local commissioning to a wider range of heath professionals.
The new network, supported by PBC Connection and working alongside the Practice Based Commissioning (PBC) Clinical Leaders Network, brings together local and national clinical leaders from nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, optometry and the allied health professions.
They will look at ways to further develop clinician-led commissioning so that it can include the insights and experience of a wide range of health care professionals, alongside GPs.
The event was hosted by NHS Networks and took place at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain’s headquarters in London.
National Lead for PBC at the DH, Dr James Kingsland, who is a member of the network and chaired the meeting, said:
“One of the biggest challenges for GP commissioners is being able to undertake robust needs assessment. This is where the insights from other health care professionals who see different people or who see our patients in a different light can be invaluable.
“We need to embrace an inclusive model of commissioning and a broad range of health professionals to make GP commissioning the best it can be.”
Stephen Foster, who heads up the HCP Commissioning Network and is a community pharmacy clinical leader and pharmacy superintendent from Kent, said:”This meeting is all about defining the future. Pharmacy needs to add value to the commissioning process.
“We can only do that if we work with GP colleagues collaboratively to define the gaps in commissioning.”
Copyright Press Association 2010
NHS Networks
