Devon rules: The impact of Monitor’s ruling

The Commissioning Review autumn issue is now available in print and online and is packed with case studies to give commissioners an insight into best practice across the country. All eyes were on Devon recently as Monitor ruled North, East and West Clinical Commissioning Group's (New Devon CCG) choice  of 'preferred provider' was not 'in breach of the procurement, patient choice and competition regulations'. We look at how the landmark ruling could potentially change the way CCGs commission providers, as they may not always be expected to put contracts up for tender. Mental health continues to be championed by government and celebrities in the media. Geraldine Strathdee,  NHS England’s national clinical director for mental health, spoke to The Commissioning Review about the role CCGs can and do already take in improving ill mental health. This issue has 16 Insight pieces giving a view into how programmes and schemes are being implemented across the country. Rakesh Marwaha, chief officer for Erewash CCG, outlines its multispeciality community provider vanguard. And Dr Andy Whitfield, chair and clinical lead for NHS North East Hampshire and Farnham CCG discusses its involvement with the primary care and acute system vanguard. Shifting the workload from secondary to primary care is gathering steam. Dr Anita Sharma did this with a ring pessary service in Oldham and presents findings from the service so far. Integration is taking on many forms at the moment. Hull CCG has been working with its local fire service, Humberside Fire and Rescue, where both parties respond to wider social issues. Three CCGs in Leeds and their 111 member practices found a way to increase the number and quality of patient safety incident reports and significant event audits. Obesity is an increasing issue in the UK and West Essex CCG has found a way to get its population moving in a bid to tackle the crisis. The Dragon’s Den model has proven popular among several CCGs and we take a look at what has happened across England to date. Saving money is always an added bonus and Hull has managed to look at using empty space for clinical appointments. NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit has helped several of its CCGs move to online expense forms, which has saved time and money. Paul Rice, head of technology strategy in the digital health, NHS England, outlines the expectations of a paperless NHS and what it means for CCGs, based on the Five Year Forward View. To see the issue click here.