1. Is your service special? John Murray Specialised Healthcare Alliance

2. The Specialised Healthcare Alliance A broad coalition of 40 patient groups campaigning on behalf of people with specialist medical conditions Our aims are to: –raise the profile of specialised healthcare as a key part of the National Health Service; –seek uniformly high levels of service and the latest treatment for patients; –collect and disseminate authoritative information about the effectiveness of arrangements for specialised commissioning; –work with all parties to address and remedy problems where they arise.

3. What is a specialised condition? Tend to be rarer and both complex and expensive to treat Have planning populations of more than 1 million Therefore involve collaboration at regional or national level have been codified by the Department of Health in the National Definition Set

5. Carter Report and Commissioning Framework A National Specialised Services Commissioning Group (NSSCG) to coordinate specialised services commissioning across all regional groups; NSCAG will continue to commission very rare conditions from within the NHS; Ten Specialised Commissioning Groups (SCGs) established aligned with the new SHA boundaries; SCGs to have responsibility for all specialised services within the SHA area; SCGs and services they commission will be funded from a pooled budget established by member PCTs.

6. Current and future commissioning levels

7. Next steps Implementation is key; SHAs have important performance management role; Need to ensure consistent interpretation, especially in relation to pooled budgets; Aim to have all services assessed by SCGs by April 2008; Evidence of commissioning skills gap; Other Carter recommendations not included in Commissioning Framework e.g. Revision of Definition Set.