Northern, Eastern and Western Devon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) did not breach NHS commissioning regulations, however further justification is needed, an investigation by Monitor has announced today.
Northern, Eastern and Western Devon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) did not breach NHS commissioning regulations, however further justification is needed, an investigation by Monitor has announced today.
The CCG selected Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust as its preferred provider of community services for adults with complex care needs in east Devon, causing the previous provider, Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust, to make a complaint to Monitor.
The Northern Devon Trust claimed that the CCG had undertaken an inadequate and unfair process in awarding a contract for these services.
In response Catherine Davies, executive director of cooperation and competition at Monitor, said: “Having set out its vision for community services in the local area, NEW Devon CCG chose between providers in a way that was tailored to its needs. The approach NEW Devon CCG took won’t work in all cases, but it shows that commissioners can be flexible in their processes for selecting providers.”
Monitor’s findings include that the CCG’s process was “proportionate… did not breach transparency requirements… was not affected by conflicts of interest” and “there has not been discriminatory or unequal treatment of potential providers”.
The report by the regulator has concluded that “the commissioner took into account patient needs and the service improvements required and designed a process to select a provider from a number of proposals”.
