PRESS RELEASE
13 November 2012
WE WILL PUT PATIENTS AT THE HEART OF A LIBERATED AND INNOVATIVE NHS, PLEDGE HEADS OF NEW NHS COMMISSIONING BOARD
The Chief Executive of the NHS Commissioning Board today (Tuesday) welcomed its mandate from the Government.
Sir David Nicholson described the mandate as "a major step on the road to the more liberated and innovative NHS that can be more responsive to its patients."
The NHS Commissioning Board (NHS CB), which is independent of government, is currently preparing to take on its full responsibilities from 1 April 2013.
Sir David said: "Our aim and our passion is to deliver a better NHS on behalf of patients and the public. We will do this by working side by side with local clinical leaders; by focussing relentlessly on the outcomes that the NHS delivers for people; and by freeing those on the frontline to transform services in line with the needs of local communities.
"The mandate enables us to do this. It marks a major step on the road to the more liberated and innovative NHS that can be more responsive to its patients.
"Make no mistake, the NHS will find this a challenging and stretching ask - and it comes against the most challenging financial environment the NHS has ever experienced. But I believe the goals are achievable.
"The mandate avoids the danger of excessively prescribing the actions of health professionals. We in the NHS Commissioning Board want to ensure power in the NHS sits with those who are closest to the patients. Our role will be to work closely with local clinical leaders and provide the support they need. Our role is not to tell them what to do."
Sir David concluded: "I am under no illusions about the scale of the task. There will be bumps in the road and we will have to learn from them.
"But I have been greatly impressed with the enthusiasm and commitment shown by our new clinical leaders and I look forward to us continuing to work in partnership to do what's best for patients in the coming years.
"We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to do things differently. We will succeed only by releasing the energy, ideas and commitment of front-line staff and organisations. The NHS Commissioning Board wholeheartedly embraces this challenge."
The Chair of the NHS Commissioning Board, Malcolm Grant, added: "The publication of the Government's mandate to the NHS Commissioning Board marks a vital milestone in the liberation of the NHS.
"It sets clear objectives for the NHS for the coming two years, couched in terms of outcomes for patients, and it recognises that the NHS CB and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) must operate independently from day-to-day political control.
"The aim of the NHS CB is to secure greatest value to patients from the nation's investment in the NHS. We will oversee delivery against the mandate, and compliance with commissioners' broader legal duties.
"And we will ensure maximum freedom for CCGs, so that local clinical leaders may respond more effectively to the needs of their local population. They willneed to innovate and transform local health services to meet the needs and wishes of patients, while assuring the delivery of improved outcomes.
"This is an exceptionally challenging yet exciting time for the NHS, and through the mandate the Government has laid the foundation for a locally responsive, clinically-led NHS, focused on improving outcomes for the people of England."
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