Moneo writes: One year to deliver

The other day I was reading an email thread about contracts with Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) for local enhanced services. Fifteen years ago this month, at its annual conference, the Association of Optometrists launched its first Primary Care Commissioning Toolkit. At the time, as reported in Optician, this was hailed by the then director general as ‘sensational’. The toolkit allowed practitioners to negotiate contracts with their Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) – later to morph into Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) – aimed at moving choked secondary care services into the primary care sector. The purpose of the toolkit was to enable practitioners to present a business case to PCTs that can be adapted to suit local needs. It was envisaged the toolkit would enable optometrists to engage with commissioners, expand traditional roles and engage with other primary care providers. The speaker made the comment, ‘We’ve got to become negotiators and make sure primary care is understood by the Department of Health, otherwise we won’t get involved.’