Subject to legislation currently passing through parliament, the Government intends to establish the NHS Commissioning Board. The NHS Commissioning Board’s central role will be to drive improvement in results for patients, ensuring a fair and comprehensive service across the country. It will also promote the NHS Constitution and champion the interests of patients, using choice and information to empower people to improve services.
Accountable to the Secretary of State via an annual mandate, the NHS Commissioning Board will be an independent, statutory body, free to determine its own organisational shape, structure and ways of working.
The Secretary of State will remain responsible for promoting a comprehensive health service; and retains the ultimate accountability for securing the provision of services, through his relationship with NHS bodies.
The Chair of the NHS Commissioning Board will provide strategic leadership and vision for NHS commissioning. The NHS Commissioning Board is a major part of the Government’s plan to modernise the NHS. It will:
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directly commission certain services including: primary medical care, specialised commissioning, offender and some military health;
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promote patient choice;
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ensure a comprehensive system of Clinical Commissioning Groups, and supporting and holding them to account;
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allocate of, and account for, NHS resources; and
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reduce inequalities in access to healthcare.