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World class commissioning (WCC) is a national programme that was introduced to transform the way that services are commissioned by PCTs. It promotes the commissioning of high-quality and value-for-money services, and aims to improve health outcomes and reduce health inequalities.¹

As NICE guidance provides evidence-based, cost-effective, national recommendations, it supports the WCC agenda and should be used to inform local decision making in commissioning health services. NICE has therefore launched a ‘How to’ guide to help with the development of long-term plans and also support day-to-day commissioning.²
As highlighted in the guide, there are a number of ways that NICE guidance can help commissioners. For example, it provides:

• assurance for PCT boards, practice-based commissioners, and the public that robust evidence underpins decision-making
• a framework to identify opportunities for service redesign
• evidence to support cases for investment and the decommissioning of services, helping to make systems more efficient.

NICE has developed a range of implementation support tools that will help with the commissioning of evidence-based services, and these are summarised in the ‘How to’ guide, which also explains how a range of best practice can be easily accessed through NHS Evidence. Dr Gillian Leng, Chief Operating Officer for NHS Evidence, will provide an update on this web portal in the next issue of Guidelines in Practice.

Julia Morris, Editor
julia.morris@mgp.ltd.uk

References

1. Department of Health. World class commissioning: an introduction. London: DH, 2009.
2. National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. How to use NICE guidance to commission high-quality services.G