New “accountable care organisations” will strengthen commissioning services in West Yorkshire and Harrogate, according to its published sustainability and transformation plan.
The document, which was submitted to NHS England on 21 October and published last week, sets out how the region proposes close an expected financial gap of £1.07bn by 2021.
The STP, which covers a very large patch with a 2.5 million population, decided to break down into six smaller constituent parts which have drawn up their own plans separately. These are: Wakefield, Bradford district and Craven, Leeds, Kirklees, Calderdale and Harrogate.
The wider West Yorkshire and Harrogate STP will focus on nine specific areas including cancer, urgent and emergency care, specialist services, stroke and mental health as well as standardising commissioning, acute service collaboration, prevention, and community and primary care.
Key planks of the plans include redesigning community care with a focus on prevention, making the region’s hospitals sustainable and changing the way services are commissioned.
Changes to the way services are commissioned fall into three areas:
- Strengthening the region-wide committee of CCGs to commission some specialist services at a West Yorkshire and Harrogate level;
- Bringing together CCGs, councils and NHS England to integrate commissioning in the local authority area; and
- Set up new “accountable care organisations” to manage capitated budgets for their local populations.
The regional joint committee of CCGs will be strengthened to make commissioning decisions on specialist services, creating system-wide outcomes and payment methods and care pathways, while provider-led ACOs will decide how resources are best utilised to meet their population’s needs.
Specifically the STP refers to setting up ACOs in Airedale, Bradford and Craven, and Wakefield; and a primary and acute care system in Harrogate. Leeds is also testing new care models which, HSJ understands, could involve an ACO in the future.
Full story in The HSJ, 14 November 2016