The Health and Social Care Board (HSCB), works in partnership with the Public Health Agency (PHA) to arrange or ‘commission’ a full range of health and social care services for the population of Northern Ireland.
The HSCB and PHA take forward the regional commissioning agenda through a series of integrated service teams. All of the service teams responsible for commissioning services are comprised of HSCB and PHA staff, demonstrating the common agenda shared by both organisations and the close working relationship with one another.
The five Local Commissioning Groups (LCGs) which are committees of the HSCB are responsible for ensuring that the health and social care needs of local populations across Northern Ireland are addressed.
The HSCB also commissions services from voluntary and community organisations. This feeds directly into local economies and is responsive to local demands. We are also exploring opportunities to secure provision from social enterprises, and to encourage and build social capital through community development opportunities.
These approaches are underpinned by effective stakeholder engagement and Personal and Public Involvement (PPI), ensuring that service users, carers and the public influence the planning, commissioning and delivery of health and social care services in ways that are meaningful to them.
We are committed to incorporating PPI into our culture and practice. We are currently implementing a joint HSCB and PHA Personal and Public Involvement strategy.