1. NHS Milton Keynes CCG Constitution This document is not a legal document and is not to be used as a replacement for the full version of the NHS Milton Keynes CCG Constitution dated July 2012

2. How & Why ‘sign up’? The Health and Social Care Act stipulates that all CCGs must have a constitution and that all member practices must sign up to it The CCG constitution is legally binding and once signed indicates a practice’s agreement to act as a participatory member of the organisation If practices do not join a CCG they will be allocated to one by the NHS Commissioning Board The constitution sets out how the CCG will discharge its duties and functions including all aspects of governance Once signed, any future changes to a CCG constitution will need to be approved by the NHS Commissioning Board Group liaison with LMC Get engaged: be part of your CCG

3. Our Commitment The constitution sets out NHS Milton Keynes CCG’s responsibilities for commissioning care for its patients. It describes our governing principles and the rules and procedures that the CCG will adopt to ensure: probity and accountability in the day to day running of the CCG that decisions are taken in an open & transparent way the interests of patients & the public remain central to the goals of the CCG It confirms: the group’s legal position the group’s mission, value & aims the group’s membership & the decisions reserved to the membership how the membership relates to the group’s governing body the role of Board members & the selection process how members are expected to behave the powers of the governing body, committees & individuals the group’s meeting arrangements the group’s prime financial policies

4. Who it applies to? All member practices The group’s employees Individuals working on behalf of the group Members of the group’s governing body (including the governing body’s audit & remuneration committees) Everyone is responsible for knowing, complying with and for upholding the arrangements for the governance and operation of the group, as described in the Milton Keynes CCG Constitution.

5. What area do we cover?

6. Our Commitment to the people of MK ‘We will openly work with you to plan and buy services that are high quality and provide you with the best health outcomes and experiences while achieving value for money for our local community. We will listen and we will improve the health and well-being for everyone in Milton Keynes.’

7. Our priorities & aims Our priorities: Maintain patient safety and national standards Improve the local urgent care system – a local service for things that need urgent attention, but aren’t serious enough to require A&E Reduce geographic health inequalities Reduce deaths from major health problems, such as cancer Keep the most vulnerable people healthy Our four strategic aims: Commissioning value for money services Clinical leadership to make a difference Improve quality and safety Develop a high performing organisation

9. The Model for Best Practice Patient, Public, Staff & Stakeholder Engagement The model explains how the views of individual patients & the public at a GP practice, at neighbourhood level & Board level can be & translated into the shared decision making of the new CCG Board. The model has been co-designed by GPs, the Patient’s Congress and LINk:MK on behalf of the public & is proving a useful tool to explain how the new CCG will engage with its patients, public, community groups, practice members and stakeholders.

11. Functions Commissioning certain health services (where the NHS Commissioning Board is not under a duty to do so) that meet the reasonable needs of all people registered with member GP practices, and of people who are usually resident within the area and are not registered with a member of any clinical commissioning group Commissioning emergency care for anyone present in the group’s area Working in partnership with our local authority to develop a joint strategic needs assessment and a joint health & wellbeing strategies Where it is intended that services will change, NHS Milton Keynes CCG will engage with the local authority health overview & scrutiny committee and, where formal consultation on changes is required, will follow the Cabinet Office’s Code of Practice on Consultation Working in partnership with the NHS Commissioning Board to improve the quality of primary medical care, and particularly to take account of need and unexpressed demand: develop and performance manage contracts with major providers; monitor service quality and patient safety;

12. In discharging its functions the group will: –Promote a comprehensive health service –Co-lead the joint strategic needs assessment and the development of Joint health and wellbeing strategies –Secure public involvement –Improve the quality of primary medical services –Reduce inequalities –Promote the involvement of patients, their carers & representatives in decisions about their healthcare –Enable patients to make choices –Obtain appropriate advice –Promote innovations –Promote research & the use of research –Promote education & training –Promote integration

13. General Financial Duties Ensure its expenditure does not exceed the aggregate of its allocations for the financial year Ensure its use of resources does not exceed the amount specified by the NHS Commissioning Board for the financial year Take account of any directions issued by the NHS Commissioning Board, in respect of specified types of resource use in a financial year, to ensure the group do not exceed an amount specified by the NHS Commissioning Board Publish an explanation of how the group spent any payment in respect of quality

14. Next steps… Each practice will receive two copies of the Constitution, and the summary version Each practice is asked to make one copy of the full Constitution document available for the reference of patients The NHS Milton Keynes CCG Constitution is also available via the website http://www.miltonkeynesccg.nhs.uk/ http://www.miltonkeynesccg.nhs.uk/