By Sally Hogg, Strategic Lead, Mums and Babies in Mind

Commissioning is a word that is widely used but not well understood. Commissioners are often seen as those who make the decisions and hold the purse strings, and commissioning as the process through which they use funding to procure (identify, obtain and purchase) local services. But few of us understand exactly what they do or how they work.

In fact, commissioning is much more than just procurement, and should not simply be seen as the role of those who have ‘commissioner’ within their job titles. Commissioning is the process of deciding how to use all the resources available in a system to improve citizens’ outcomes in the most efficient, effective and sustainable way. Whilst commissioners are ultimately accountable for this, they can’t do it alone and effective commissioning requires commissioners, managers, clinicians, and communities to work together to design and deliver pathways of care that produce the best outcomes for local populations. Continue reading Commissioning in Perinatal Mental Health: Everyone’s Business →