News / RightCare expands tools for improvement

Four new focus packs (cancer and tumours; mental health and dementia; maternity and early years; and musculoskeletal, trauma and injuries) have been added to the three packs (cardiovascular disease, neurological and respiratory) published earlier this year.

The commissioning for value packs bring together huge amounts of data for individual CCGs, comparing spend and outcome data with the English average and a group of demographically similar peers. The aim is to help CCGs identify service area that would present the greatest potential for improving value.

They can then explore the variation within each programme to show which specific areas along a pathway they should prioritise.

For example, a CCG could look at the diabetes pathway and see how it compares to its peers in terms of prevention, detection, primary care management and prescribing, secondary care activity and patients at risk of associated problems.

NHS England – which oversees the RightCare programme – says the packs support the first two phases of the RightCare approach – where to look and what to change. The final phase of the approach – how to change – requires local agreement, however RightCare delivery partners can support health economy discussions, which will also be reinforced with a series of good practice casebooks.

One recent casebook focused on work in Bradford, where the number of strokes and heart attacks were reduced through a ‘health hearts’ initiative.

The RightCare programme is now sponsored directly by NHS England chief finance officer Paul Baumann. Speaking at the launch of the CFV packs earlier this year, Mr Baumann said the tools would help commissioners make important decisions. ‘We expect that the roll-out of the RightCare programme will drive up the quality of care while contributing significantly to meeting the efficiency challenge set out in the Five-year forward view.’