The latest report published by the Audit Commission has found the government's drive to give GPs greater financial control and responsibility over the services they commission for patients is only making limited progress.
Steve Bundred, Audit Commission chief executive, said practice based commissioning offered potential benefits to patients ‘but won’t take off unless the NHS gets the financial infrastructure right’.
The report found factors central to success were timely provision of robust budgets which were well understood and accepted by the GP practices which would commission services; regular, accurate and easily understood information which enabled GPs to monitor progress; and freedom and support for practices to make changes and to generate and use savings for the benefit of their patients.
The report also recommended sound governance arrangements for approving business plans and overcoming any potential conflicts of interest when practices use their commissioning budgets to purchase services from themselves; and greater shared ownership between PCTs and practices on how resources should be used to support strategic objectives.
Further reading:
NHS and resource accounting: a worrying diagnosis
Comments