Joint Strategic Commissioning

The joint commissioning of older people’s services is a key focus of the support that the JIT provides to health and social care partnerships. Developing a coherent joint commissioning strategy is fundamental to delivering on the Scottish Governments key policy objective of re-shaping care for older people. At a time of substantially increasing numbers of older people, coupled with reducing resources, it represents an important tool that can provide rigour and transparency to the decisions taken by commissioners and confidence to a public who otherwise see changes taking place that they do not understand.

Joint strategic commissioning involves a number of specific but interrelated tasks - determining local needs, scoping future demand and developing an understanding of current services and resources as well as re-designing services, shifting resources and procuring and reviewing services in order to deliver better outcomes for older people. It should take place within a set of governance arrangements that ensure accountability and which clearly locate the strategy for each client group within a shared and coherent strategic framework.

Key Strategic Commissioning Documents

The JIT has produced a number of key resources to support partnerships work to develop their joint strategic commissioning proposals, and will continue to develop further material. Resources recently produced include:

Preparing your Joint Commissioning Strategy for Older People – A practical guide to get you started - August 2011

This three part guide has been prepared to help local health, housing and social care partnerships to embark on the work required to create Joint Commissioning Strategies for Older People. The core content, relating to processes and steps set out in these papers, is applicable to all community care groups, but we have focussed on older people.

Joint Commissioning - A practical guide to get you started [231Kb]

Preparing Your Joint Strategic Commissioning Plan for Older People – A practical guide to structure and content - September 2011

This guide provides an example of the structure and content of a Joint Strategic Commissioning (JSC) Plan for Older Peoples Services produced as part of each partnerships work in setting out its local commissioning strategy. The example used will enable partnerships to meet the requirements of the 2012/13 Change Fund Guidance.

Commissioning – A guide to structure and content [71Kb]

A Controlled Earthquake - A think piece on where Joint Commissioning Strategies need to go

This brief paper by Nigel Walker seeks to bring together some of the key messages regarding Joint Commissioning and the challenges and next steps which people will need to consider. Writing the strategy is but a start and the more difficult steps of helping it become a reality and transform services is where the real concentration of effort will need to be. This challenging paper sets out some of the hurdles and possible solutions that will demand both innovative thinking and a strong focus upon delivering improved outcomes if they are to succeed in bringing about the necessary changes.

A Controlled Earthquake - A think piece [230Kb]

If you have any queries regarding support or learning opportunities for your partnership, agency or sector, or would like to discuss more bespoke assistance around strategic commissioning, please contact Tony Homer (01361 890 698) or Alistair Hodgson (0131 244 3652) in the first instance.