Joining the Contracts team!

24th November - 28th November 2014

Next week, I will be starting to work with the contracts team at the CCG. The team is responsible for amending each healthcare provider's contract with changes to certain sections; for example, the payment section which needs to be updated annually due to changes to regional payment tariffs. All contracts are drafted on an online NHS contracts portal where they are then finalised, issued and sent to be signed by the appropriate healthcare provider. I'm looking forward to getting involved in this area of work and gaining more of an insight into the different contracts which we hold.

This week, I have been writing the business case for commissioning Perinatal Mental Health Services for women in Eastern Cheshire, experiencing mental health problems during the antenatal and postpartum period of their pregnancy. I have been researching what services currently exist for women in our neighbouring areas. There are a number of services and clinics within the Wirral and West Cheshire area, indicating that there is a significant need to commission services that are similar, in addition to also ensuring that there is an integrated care pathway in place for referrals to the services we commission. The business case will justify the rationale behind the project and will list the benefits of the project.

I have also been continuing to work on a number of different projects, including; comparing and contrasting the 2014/15 CQUINs (Commissioning for Quality and Innovation) implemented by our neighbouring CCG's for our leading mental health provider (CWP), amending the business case for the risk stratification tool which we are looking to procure next year as part of our transformation programme ‘Caring Together'. I have also been analysing results from surveys conducted at each GP practice in Eastern Cheshire to identify trends, improvements and declines.

Bake off update...! This week we were given the challenge of making pastry! The last time I attempted to make a pastry-based product was about seven years ago in a food technology class. We were given the task of making jam tarts; of which mine ended up being raw in the middle, so this week’s bake off was a real challenge! I decided to bake mini apple and blackberry pies. There were a number of different pastry treats on offer; including profiteroles, tarts and pies…. there were no soggy bottoms in sight!
Next week, we have been given the challenge of baking bread!