Notice of initiation of investigation
Updated 5 August 2016
Applies to England
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1. Notice of initiation of investigation
Monitor has decided to investigate the commissioning of elective care services in North East London by Barking and Dagenham Clinical Commissioning Group, Havering Clinical Commissioning Group, Redbridge Clinical Commissioning Group and Waltham Forest Clinical Commissioning Group (together the CCGs) and the proposed pricing arrangements for those services.
This follows a complaint by Care UK Clinical Services Limited that the process carried out by the CCGs to select Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust to provide elective care services from the North East London Treatment Centre in Ilford was not consistent with the CCGs’ regulatory obligations and that the national tariff was not complied with when agreeing prices for those services.
This case raises important questions about how the CCGs’ actions in commissioning the elective care services were in the interests of patients. Monitor will consider whether the CCGs’ actions were consistent with:
(a) the National Health Service (Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition) (No.2) Regulations 2013; and/or (b) section 116 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 (price payable by commissioners for NHS services) or the rules specified in the 2014/15 National Tariff Payment System (“the National Tariff rules”).
We have not reached a view as to whether there has been any breach of the Regulations, the Act or the National Tariff rules.
We will publish a statement in the coming weeks further setting out the issues we will examine in this investigation and we will invite submissions from interested parties.
2. Outline timetable (updated 23 February 2016)
| Action | Date of completion |
|---|---|
| Initiation of investigation | 30 July 2015 |
| Publish statement of issues enabling interested parties to respond | 21 August 2015 |
| Responses received to statement of issues | 11 September 2015 |
| Meetings with the CCGs, information gathering and review and analysis of the evidence | August to November 2015 |
| Inviting submissions from parties on preliminary findings | December 2015 to February 2016 |
| Information gathering and review and analysis of the evidence (if necessary) | February 2016 |
| Publish conclusions of the investigation / Final decision | March/April 2016 (estimated) |
Depending on Monitor’s conclusions, further steps may be necessary to finalise the investigation. If Monitor intends to issue a direction or make a declaration of ineffectiveness it will issue the CCGs with a notice of intent and allow the CCGs, and other parties if appropriate, to make representations before publishing a final notice.