New resource for Clinical Commissioning Groups launched

The Carers Trust have launched a new resource aimed at Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) to ensure that support for carers is prioritised.
The guidance, Commissioning for Carers: Key Principles for Clinical Commissioning Groups, makes the case that supporting carers’ wellbeing can reduce overall spending in the NHS and will help commissioners to meet their required outcomes.
 
NHS changes make accountability more difficult

New NHS reforms mean that there are no longer specific performance targets or rules for investing in carers’ services. This makes it more difficult to hold the NHS locally to account for what it is commissioning for carers.

The NHS Mandate, however, sets out the Government’s priorities for the NHS and key areas where it expects NHS England to make improvements by April 2015. These include ensuring that people have a positive experience of care and treating and caring for people in a safe environment and protecting them from avoidable harm.

Making improvements and saving costs

Carers Trust Director of Policy and Research, Dr Moira Fraser, comments: “We hope that this guidance will help our Network Partners engage with local CCGs and demonstrate to CCGs how supporting carers can help meet key areas of improvement and lead to savings across the NHS.

“CCGs across England are under enormous pressure to meet financial targets and this resource will help them achieve this.”

Download the Commissioning for Carers guide here:
http://static.carers.org/files/commissioning-for-carers-key-principles-for-ccgs-6809.pdf