Any Qualified Provider contracts announced for South Yorkshire

The first round of AQP contracts in South Yorkshire has now been announced.  Very basic details are available at

http://www.sheffield.nhs.uk/procurement/Cardiology%20Diagnostics.php and http://www.rotherham.nhs.uk/foi/PCT%201561/Release%20of%20information%20letter%201.pdf

The start dates for the contracts are not given, so we can expect more details of what is being offered and how it will work.

 

There are three services - for details see http://www.sheffieldsaveournhs.co.uk/sheffield_nhs_news_15.html

 

Of the 20 providers (some of them recognised for two or three of the services.) 

10 are part of the NHS - Foundation Trust Hospitals in Sheffield, Rotherham and Doncaster and 7 GP surgeries.  Of the 10 non NHS providers at least two have NHS connections, Rivelin Healthcare Ltd and Primary Provider Ltd, small local providers set up by Sheffield GP practices or associates. 

 

The providers will be in competition with each other and patients will be expected to choose from providers after discussion with their referring GP.  As far as we know there are no other AQP exercises in the pipeline at the moment.

We shall be advocating patients to choosing the NHS option where possible and practicable but until we have more details of the GP providers and what is happening to the income received, it will be difficult to say whether these will count as NHS provider services.

 

The shape and structure of this new NHS market raises a number of issues and we'd welcome comments

 

New 38 degrees NHS group in Sheffield links with SSONHS

The national 38 degrees organisation has been again been encouraging people to set up local groups to save the NHS and we are pleased to hear there has been wide take up across the country.  We already know there have been 38 degrees groups in Sheffield for other subjects (e.g. Save the Forests).  Unfortunately the national 38 degrees office have not until recently kept records of groups already set up and some other 38 degrees supporters of the NHS coincidentally arranged their first meeting at exactly the same time as our November meeting.  We are delighted that they have now agreed to join us at Victoria Hall on November 12th at 7 pm and look forward to broadening our campaigns.

The 38 degrees call was to influence CCGS to undertake not to contract NHS services out to private contractors, and if possible to get them to put this in their constitution.  However it seems that even CCGs which are sympathetic would not take the legal risk of formalising such an undertaking and this is likely to be true also of Sheffield CCG whose leaders have said publicly that they will not seek out new providers from the private sector unless existing services prove inadequate or they are instructed by the government (e.g. Any Qualified Provider).  They also curbed the attempt by the walk-in centre to introduce a charge for whiplash assessment.

However the crunch will come as more cuts bite next year and the CCG finds itself faced with potentially unpalatable decisions.  We will be campaigning with all willing parties to save NHS services in Sheffield.