Minister gives update on review of Specialised Service Commissioning

In April, NHS England established a specialised task force to make some immediate improvements to the commissioning of specialised services after a budget overspend of £400 million. Originally scoped for three months, the task force has now been extended to run for a further three months, resulting in a delay of the publication of NHS England’s five-year strategy for specialised services.

Peter Aldous MP met with the Alpha-1 Alliance in May where we briefed him about the unmet medical need of Alpha-1 patients in England and our policy suggestions to improve access to services. Following the meeting, Mr Aldous tabled a Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Health asking for clarification on the next steps in the commissioning process for a highly specialised Alpha-1 Service.  Along with several other MP’s, Mr Aldous asked for an update on the review into specialised service commissioning.

The Conservative Public Health Minister, Jane Ellison MP, responded by providing information on the extension of the review and also the scope. The taskforce is expected to call on around 50 experts from different disciplines to give their opinions on how to improve the commissioning process for specialised services.

Source: Alpha-1 Alliance 27/07/2014