On average Clinical Commissioning Groups spend around 15% of their expenditure purchasing healthcare from non-NHS organisations, but an NHS Support Federation survey of 2019/20 annual accounts also shows 18 CCGs spend around 20% and the highest spending CCGs allocate 26% to non-NHS organisations.
Who? The non-NHS organisations that are receiving money to run NHS services include private companies, community interest companies (also known as not-for-profit companies), and charities.
What’s not included? CCGs record their spending on GP surgeries separately, some of this will include APMS contracts signed with companies paid to run local GP surgeries such as those with AT Medics and Virgin Care, therefore the true amount of spending will be higher.
What care are they buying in? Of the top ten CCGs for non-NHS spending a common factor was the large scale outsourcing of community healthcare – services that are not covered by the GP contracts or carried out within hospitals. These large contracts often also cover public health services, which are funded by local councils.
Full story in The Lowdown, 14 September 2020
