Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)

Clinical Commissioning Groups are groups of GPs are responsible for designing local health services In England. They do this by commissioning or buying health and care services including:  

• Elective hospital care
• Rehabilitation care
• Urgent and emergency care
• Most community health services
• Mental health and learning disability services

Clinical Commissioning Groups work with patients and healthcare professionals and in partnership with local communities and local authorities. On their governing body, Groups have, in addition to GPs, a least one registered nurse and a doctor who is a secondary care specialist.

Clinical Commissioning Groups are responsible for arranging emergency and urgent care services within their boundaries, and for commissioning services for any unregistered patients who live in their area. All GP practices have to belong to a Clinical Commissioning Group.

The announcement that GPs will take over this commissioning role was made in the 2010 White Paper, ‘Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS’. This is part of the Government's wider desire to create a clinically-driven commissioning system that is more sensitive to the needs of patients.

 Clinical Commissioning Groups are overseen by NHS England (formally NHS Commissioning Board). They make sure that Clinical Commissioning Groups have the capacity and capability to commission services successfully and to meet their financial responsibilities. Its senior structures contain a range of healthcare professionals, and it has a Medical Director and a Chief Nursing Officer on its board.

The NHS Commissioning Board are also responsible for directly commissioning:

• Pharmacy services
• General Practice
• Dentistry services
• Specialist services (specialised services that are required by a limited number of people)

At a local level, new Health and Wellbeing Boards have been be set up in local authorities to ensure that Clinical Commissioning Groups are meeting the needs of local people. The membership of these boards include representatives from:

• Clinical Commissioning Groups
• Directors of public health
• Children’s services
• Adult Social Services
• Elected councillors
• Healthwatch (representing the views of patients, carers and local communities)