Website of the Department of Health

Call for expressions of interest in the provision of capability development services for practice based commissioning (PBC)

The English Department of Health (DH) invites expressions of interest for the supply of capability development services for practice based commissioning, in the English National Health Service.

Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) are responsible for commissioning healthcare for their local population. Practice based commissioning enables GP practices to take on delegated indicative budgets to become more involved in commissioning decisions, provide clinical leadership for commissioning and expert advice to PCTs.

The DH intends to publish a framework of organisations, quality assured and capable of providing capability development services against a national standard specification, to strengthen the arrangements for practice based commissioning. The programme will be targeted at PCTs and practice based commissioners.

The capability development package is likely to include both diagnostic and developmental components and will be tailored to meet specific needs, including – but not limited to – organisational and leadership development, skills in relation to information analysis, business case development and skills in patient and public involvement. It will include a significant focus on existing best practice. Successful bidders will be required to start delivery of services from the end of November 2008.

We are seeking innovative solutions that will help PCTs and practice based commissioners to strengthen their skills in establishing and maintaining robust support arrangements for practice based commissioning.

Further details about the services to be procured for the framework will be available in a Memorandum of Information (MOI), which together with a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ), will be issued to interested organisations after 15 August 2008.

Organisations wishing to express an interest should send their contact details by e-mail no later than noon on 27 August 2008.

The DH reserves the right to refuse any expressions of interest received after this date.

• pbcdevelopmentframework@dh.gsi.gov.uk (opens new window)