Commissioning for Health and Social Care

This course provides you with the knowledge and skills required to undertake high quality, evidence-based commissioning. Students will:

• Develop an understanding of commissioning and the broader commissioning process and policy context.
• Analyse and respond to the needs of a community, and understand and strategically inform pathways of health and social care.
• Specify, procure and evaluate health and social care services that will deliver and improve agreed health and social outcomes.
• Develop a range of skills that will support effective commissioning.
• Prepare and equip health and social care managers, practitioners and commissioners for commissioning roles in rapidly changing organisations.

Who is it for?

This course is designed for commissioners, managers and clinicians wanting to understand and drive the process of commissioning services in health and social care.

Timetable

Term 3

May: Tuesday 7, 14, 21, 28 May 2024

Benefits

In addition to a solid theoretical grounding in the politics and context of commissioning, students will develop practical commissioning skills through a series of innovative groupwork activities.

This short course module is designed to be flexible in allowing you to study and reach your goals at your own pace. Our health CPD courses are credit-bearing modules that contribute to a University degree or award.

Transfer course credits towards postgraduate taught degree

As a health care professional, once you've completed this course you could offset 15 credits as part of a postgraduate programme, continuing your study with further modules to make up a Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) 60 credits, Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) 120 credits or Master of Science (MSc) 180 credits qualification (all credits must be awarded within five years of study commencing).

By the end of the course you will be able to:

Knowledge and understanding

• Demonstrate knowledge of international health purchasing policy, models and structures, and of current commissioning policy and practice.
• Demonstrate a systematic and critical understanding of the origins and development of health and social care commissioning policy by locating it in its appropriate (international/UK) context.
• Display a critical understanding of the principles of population and health-needs assessment, and how to apply public health data to commissioning decisions.
• Describe and evaluate alternative models of organisation and partnerships for effective and evidence-based health care delivery.
• Demonstrate a clear understanding of the leadership, negotiation and business skills required to effectively commission services.

Skills

• Develop in-depth and evidence-based commissioning skills and knowledge to support effective health and social care commissioning.
• Critically assess the uses and limitations of clinical and financial data in the commissioning process.
• Critically apply key concepts of change management in relation to individual and organisational roles in commissioning.
• Differentiate and critically assess models of organisation and partnerships for health care delivery, and the integration of health and social care.

Teaching

The course will be taught over four consecutive 7-hour days on a Tuesday.

Teaching and learning will take place via a mix of lectures, group activities and discussions, allowing you to examine the issues in more detail. This provides you with both teacher and peer-led input, promoting discussion and developing communication and group working skills. You will work in small groups on real-world data and case studies.

Teaching is supplemented by self-directed study which allows you both to gain a deeper understanding of the subject generally, and to pursue topics which are of particular interest to you in greater detail.

Teaching and learning are facilitated by Moodle, the University’s online Virtual Learning Environment.

Assessment

You will be assessed through a written commissioning case study of 4,000 words, with a pass mark of 50%. Opportunities for feedback will be available through the course lecturers. Passing the course will gain you 15 credits at level 7 (M level)

On completion, students will receive 15 credits towards their programme, or, if taken as a stand-alone CPD course, proof of completion and credits obtained.

This course is provided by the School of Health & Psychological Sciences.

Credits

This course is worth 15 credits toward eligible programmes.

Students should have a first degree at 2:1 and ideally have two years’ experience of working within a health or social care environment, although this is not essential.

English requirements

If your first language is not English, one of the following is required:

• A first degree from a UK university
• A first degree from an overseas institution recognised by City, University of London as providing adequate evidence of proficiency in the English language, for example, from institutions from Australia, Canada or the United States of America.
• International English Language Test Service (IELTS) a score of 7.0 is required with no subtest below 7.0
• Pearson Test of English (Academic) score 72 required
• TOEFL 100 overall with 24 in Writing, 20 in Listening, 19 Reading and 20 Speaking
• Other evidence of proficiency in the English language, which satisfies the board of studies concerned, including registration with your professional regulator.

• The Barker Report: Independent Commission on the Future of Health and Social Care In England. (2014).
• Department of Health (2005). Commissioning a Patient-Led NHS. London
• Figueras, J. et al. (2005) Purchasing to improve health systems performance. Open University Press.
• Fone, M., Young, P. (2005) Managing Risks in Public Organisations. Macmillan, London. Glasby, J. (ed.) (2012) Commissioning for health and well-being: An Introduction. Bristol: Policy Press.
• Greener, I. & Mannion, R. (2009) ‘A realistic evaluation of practice-based commissioning’, Policy & Politics 37: 57-73.
• Humphries, R. & Wenzel, L. (June 2015). Options for Integrated Commissioning: beyond Barker
• Timmins, N. (2012). Never Again? The Story of the Health and Social Care Act 2012.
• Woodin, J. (2006) ‘Healthcare commissioning and contracting’, in K. Walshe and J. Smith (eds.) Healthcare Management. Maidenhead: Open University Press.