EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. – July 7, 2008 - Northamptonshire Teaching Primary Care Trust has today become one of the first primary care trusts (PCTs) in the country to sign an agreement with an external partner to help improve the way in which it commissions health services for local people. The external partner is UnitedHealth UK, a division of Ingenix – a leading health information, technology and consulting company.
UnitedHealth UK is one of the suppliers on the Department of Health’s Framework for procuring External Support for Commissioners (FESC), a national initiative set up to support PCTs around the country in undertaking some or part of their commissioning functions.
John Parkes, chief executive officer of Northamptonshire Teaching Primary Care Trust, said, “We are determined to become a world class PCT that commissions the very best health care services for the people of Northamptonshire. In order to achieve this ambitious goal we need help and support from the experts. FESC is about bringing in the expertise of a leading global organization to improve our capacity and capability and we’re delighted to have chosen UnitedHealth UK to work in partnership with us.”
PCTs are required to:
- continually assess their performance,
- respond to the ever-changing needs of the local population,
- effectively manage performance to ensure quality services are maintained and
- put local people firmly at the centre of all that it does.
Parkes continued, “We want to help people live longer, healthier lives by commissioning the best and most appropriate services. With additional expertise and capacity, we are confident we will be able to realise this aim.”
Dave Ostler, president of Ingenix International, said, "We have a track record in improving health care for patients worldwide. Working in partnership with the PCT, we'll be drawing on our analytical expertise to help assess the health needs of local people and then deploy our tools and technologies that use the best clinical evidence to ensure the highest quality care for local people. We also want to help create a healthy culture for the people in Northamptonshire, by involving patients in the development of local services and encouraging healthy lifestyle choices."
UnitedHealth UK will work in partnership with the PCT over the next three years in several key areas including helping the PCT to:
- accurately assess the health needs of the local population and target care more effectively towards those with the greatest needs,
- achieve value for money by ensuring that the PCT is using its resources most appropriately,
- focus attention not just on treatment outcomes but on other aspects of the patient experience such as cleanliness, privacy, dignity and hospital food,
- become a world class communicator, to listen to patients and to act as the health champion for local people and
- encourage healthy life style choices, to invest in keeping people fit rather than simply treating patients when they become ill.
Notes to editors:
FESC
- The Framework for procuring External Support for Commissioners (FESC) was developed in response to a vision set out in the White Paper Health Reform in England: update and commissioning framework (July 2006).
- It was officially announced by the Department of Health in October 2007 to strengthen commissioning in the NHS. The Government believes that making PCTs better commissioners will improve the health service as a whole.
- The FESC framework recognises that PCTs will need to develop excellent skills in a range of commissioning processes such as identifying population health needs, data collection and analysis, service evaluation and redesign and procurement and performance management.
- Primary care trusts around the country have been conducting ‘fit for purpose’ audits to identify skill gaps for world class commissioning.
- FESC is designed to help by:
- providing easy access to a framework of organizations, offering a range of skills and experience, that have been through a robust pre-qualification process by the Department,
- saving time in undertaking procurement activities with easy access to optimum value for money solutions,
- minimizing the range of organizations offering resource, which will reduce the legal and cost implications that can be encountered when seeking to procure external support and
- adopting more innovative and efficient approaches to commissioning.
UnitedHealth UK, a division of Ingenix
UnitedHealth UK is a division of Ingenix, a subsidiary organization of UnitedHealth Group that works to improve health care through the use of information and technology, using data and evidence-based information to improve the quality, affordability and accessibility of health care.
Ingenix works with more than 250,000 health care customers internationally, and employs more than 7,500 health care and technology professionals.
UnitedHealth UK works with the NHS, combining an in-depth experience and understanding of the NHS with access to the resources and know-how of its parent company. For more information, please contact www.unitedhealthuk.co.uk and www.ingenix.com. |
