Commissioning services ‘must remain core NHS function’

Attempts to privatise commissioning could put the NHS at risk, the British Medical Association (BMA) claims.

Responding to the government’s plans to change the way in which heath services are assigned, the BMA has outlined guidelines which it believes would help develop the role of commissioning.

The association has called for clinical engagement in primary and secondary care, advocating the involvement of clinicians in the decision making process – and allowing the NHS to plan according to patients’ needs.

Dr Laurence Buckman, deputy chairman of the BMA’s general practitioners committee said problems could arise if private firms are given a role in the process as they could “commission work for themselves and benefit from the profits, putting at risk the overarching ethos and ethics of a publicly funded health service”.

“NHS commissioning which is led by clinicians [?] will ensure decisions on health services best meet the needs of patients,” he added.

The BMA has previously claimed that in England, using independent firms to treat non-emergency NHS patients has led to faster patient treatment.