Any Qualified Provider

The Department of Health have launched a site devoted to information on Any Qualified Provider this week. The site is aimed at anybody that wants to supply or commission services in the NHS. Link to the website.

The BAA has raised several concerns around the contents of these pack, and would strongly urge members to engage with local commissioners at this stage to ensure local commissioning is fit for purpose.

The BAA will be running a Heads of Service meeting, on the 26th January 2012 in Nottingham.  This information day will be for services going out to tender in the first wave, and will be limited to 50 spaces.  Further details will be launched soon.

From next April the Department of Health are asking commissioners to use an AQP approach to
commission three or more services in their local area. The Department has identified eight services where AQP could deliver improvements in the quality of services for patients. Commissioners could choose services from these eight service areas or they could choose other services which are a priority locally. However, for each of the eight services we have been
working with the NHS to co-produce 'implementation packs' to help commissioners.

The implementation packs have been developed by teams comprising commissioners, clinical experts and DH policy officials. Each pack contains example service specifications, example currencies and explores the types of information patients need to make choices in that service area. Just as we are giving commissioners the freedom to choose which services are suitable for AQP locally, even if they choose services from the list of eight, use of the packs is not mandatory. They are intended as helpful aids for commissioners, not strict commissioning guidance.

The implementation packs are now being published on the AQP Resource Centre. You can already find the Musculoskeltal Service for Back and Neck Pain, Adult Hearing Services and Psychological Therapies packs, which are on the website now. Other implementation packs will follow shortly.

The website has addressed as many of the Frequently Asked Questions as we could and contains other useful information for both patients and health professionals.