SHCA publishes updated guide to specialised commissioning for 2024/25

Since 2013, specialised services for people with rare and complex conditions have been commissioned – the process of setting standards, planning and paying for care – by NHS England (NHSE) at the national level. In the last few years, NHSE has sought to involve local NHS commissioners more in the commissioning of specialised services, through both closer collaboration and formal delegation of responsibility to Integrated Care Boards (ICBs).

To help make sense of the ongoing reforms to specialised commissioning arrangements, the SHCA has published an updated version of our Guide to specialised commissioning, initially launched in 2023. The refreshed guide provides an easy-to-read summary of specialised commissioning arrangements for 2024/25 and what it will mean for services in the future.

The newly updated guide includes similar elements to our 2023/24 guide such as an explainer on the service portfolio analysis, and new elements such as lessons learned from the South London Pathfinder programme, which has piloted various elements of delegation already.

If you would like to learn more about these ongoing changes, you can read the updated Guide to specialised commissioning for 2024/25 here.