Pathfinder clinical commissioning groups

Three pathfinder clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) have been chosen to work with the Department of Health and the Learning Disabilities Observatory on a project to look at commissioning services for people with learning disabilities.

The project has been set up to support CCGs as they begin to commission community, hospital and specialist health services for people with learning disabilities. It will build on recent work to improve the care and provision for people with learning disabilities and enable the groups to share the learning with the wider clinical commissioning community. The three chosen CCGs are:

• A partnership between Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
• Gloucestershire
• Nene Commissioning

They were chosen based on their track record of reducing health inequalities in their area and because they were keen to build on this work. However, due to the level of interest and quality of the bids, an expert reference group of other interested CCGs has also been formed who will help with the work.

Among other topics, over the next six months the project will explore:

• partnership working between CCGs, patient and carer groups, health and wellbeing boards and emerging HealthWatch organisations;
• how to identify and provide the information that CCGs need to effectively commission services for people with learning disabilities
• how to share learning and ideas across the commissioning community