Cornwall Council’s Cabinet endorses joined up commissioning of health and care services
Cornwall Council’s Cabinet endorses joined up commissioning of health and care services for the benefit of local people but stresses this will not merge budgets or change any organisational structures.
Members at today’s Cabinet meeting supported the recommendation that health and care provision in Cornwall is designed around the needs of people, to improve the health and wellbeing of local people.
Commending the extensive work that was carried out by the Inquiry Panel and the recommendations made by the Health and Adult Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the best way forward to achieve this aim, the Cabinet agreed that the Council will be a partner in developing integrated strategic commissioning for health and social care.
The recommendation to strengthen the existing Health and Wellbeing Board was accepted by Cabinet in order to examine and improve how health and social care services are commissioned for the people of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
The statutory commissioning organisations, NHS Kernow, Cornwall Council, Council of the Isles of Scilly and NHS England, will retain their respective accountabilities and budgetary responsibilities.
Rob Rotchell, Cabinet Member for Adults, in Cornwall, leading on Health and Social Care Integration
Cornwall Council cabinet member for adults Rob Rotchell said: “We want to develop integrated commissioning of health and care. We want this to be an evolutionary process which will see shared leadership across the range of partners.
“Our priority is to put people’s needs first and organisational needs second.
“We have agreed to the recommendation to strengthen the existing Health and Wellbeing Board to become a more effective decision making body, as the system collectively continues to develop what integrated strategic commissioning will look like in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
“We are clear that today’s Cabinet decision is about commissioning and not service provision.
“Subject to securing all partners agreement to this approach, the intention is for the health and care system to start trialling integrated strategic commissioning to build on our current partnership working with our colleagues from the health sector. This is an evolving approach which will work through many stages and gateways.”
If agreed by all our partners, a small integrated strategic commissioning function – which would jointly commission health, care and wellbeing services – will test out a new more integrated way of working in relation to commissioning, not in relation to service delivery at this stage.
Each partner organisation will continue to operate within the existing statutory framework which means the CCG, the Councils, NHS England, and NHS provider trusts will remain the statutory accountable bodies within the local health and care system.