The provision of GP IT services are to be given to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), in a move which could see doctors’ systems outsourced to third-party providers, according to the NHS Commissioning Board’s (NHS CB) strategy.
The NHS CB is to discharge its operational responsibilities for GP IT services to CCGs, which will then commission these services locally by April 2013.
In the NHS CB’s Securing Excellence in GP IT Services, the body lay outs how the management of IT systems for GP practices will be organised.
The NHS CB will delegate responsibility for operational management of GP IT services, along with associated funding, to CCGs, according to the document.
This will include provision of clinical systems and associated hardware, network services and provision of support services, such as training to GP practices.
But GP business support systems are funded entirely by the GP practices concerned and therefore are not covered by these arrangements. CCGs, on behalf of NHS CB, will commission these services from appropriate providers or may choose to deliver these services themselves, said the document.
The news comes as the NHS CB is looking to use multiple secure email providers via the government’s G-Cloud framework.
The move would be the largest deal yet to go through G-Cloud, pushing many millions of pounds through the framework.
