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| Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group | |
|---|---|
| Name | Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group |
| Established | 2018 |
| Dissolved | 2020 |
| Region served | Kent and Medway |
| Headquarters | Maidstone |
| Predecessor | Clinical Commissioning Groups of Kent and Medway |
| Successor | Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board |
Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group was a statutory NHS commissioning organisation responsible for buying NHS services for the population of Kent and Medway between 2018 and 2020. It consolidated commissioning roles across multiple predecessor organisations to plan services for communities including Canterbury, Maidstone, Rochester, Gillingham, and Dover. The group worked with providers such as East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, Medway NHS Foundation Trust, and Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust to shape urgent care, elective services, and specialised pathways.
The creation of the commissioning group followed reorganisations prompted by the Health and Social Care Act 2012 and subsequent national policy set out by NHS England, with local realignments influenced by leaders from predecessor CCGs including West Kent CCG, South Kent Coast CCG, Canterbury and Coastal CCG, and Swale CCG. During its early period the organisation engaged with regional bodies such as the Kent and Medway Sustainability and Transformation Partnership and the Sussex and East Surrey Sustainability and Transformation Plan footprint for service redesign. Prominent local milestones included strategic commissioning work aligned with national initiatives like the Five Year Forward View and the Long Term Plan (NHS). In 2020 the CCG's statutory functions transferred to the Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board under the reforms that implemented Integrated Care Systems across England.
Governance arrangements reflected statutory CCG structures defined by NHS England and were overseen by a governing body comprising clinical leaders drawn from general practice federations in areas such as Tonbridge, Folkestone, Ashford, Thanet, and Herne Bay. Executive leadership worked with chairs of clinical committees and lay members appointed under rules influenced by NHS Act 2006 precedents and oversight from regional directors including counterparts in NHS England South East. Commissioning committees for finance, primary care, and quality interfaced with stakeholder groups representing patient organisations like Healthwatch Kent and Healthwatch Medway, as well as local authorities such as Kent County Council and Medway Council. Contracting teams negotiated provider agreements with trusts, independent sector organisations including Circle Health, and mental health providers such as Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust.
The CCG commissioned a range of services including elective surgery at acute trusts like Darent Valley Hospital and William Harvey Hospital, urgent and emergency care across A&E departments, primary care services via networks of GPs in England, community services from Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust, mental health services from providers such as Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust for neighbouring footprints, and specialised commissioning interactions with national bodies including NHS England Specialised Commissioning. Programmes targeted long-term conditions with pathways for diabetes, respiratory disease, cardiology, and stroke integrated with acute stroke units and community rehabilitation services in towns including Canterbury and Maidstone Hospital. Public health campaigns were coordinated with county-level partners and national campaigns led by Public Health England and used analytics from agencies such as NHS Digital.
Performance monitoring used national metrics aligned with NHS Constitution standards including waiting times, referral-to-treatment pathways, and A&E four-hour targets at trusts like Medway Maritime Hospital. The CCG reported to NHS England regional teams and participated in assurance processes with regulators including Care Quality Commission inspections of provider organisations. Financial stewardship was scrutinised by auditors using frameworks influenced by Department of Health and Social Care guidance and reporting cycles tied to the NHS Oversight Framework. Performance challenges mirrored pressures seen across East of England and South East England health systems, with elective backlogs, ambulance response times linked to South East Coast Ambulance Service, and workforce constraints involving recruitment from sources such as Health Education England.
Kent and Medway CCG engaged in multi-agency partnerships with local authorities including Kent County Council and Medway Council, voluntary sector organisations such as the British Red Cross, and social care partners shaped by legislation like the Care Act 2014. It worked within the Kent and Medway Sustainability and Transformation Partnership and later Integrated Care System arrangements to coordinate strategic estates plans with acute trusts including East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust and to pursue integrated models alongside community interest companies and mental health providers. Cross-boundary collaboration occurred with neighbouring health economies including Surrey, Sussex, and London commissioners for specialised services and patient flows to centres like King's College Hospital and Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust.
The CCG faced scrutiny over financial deficits and proposed service reconfigurations that attracted public debate in local media outlets such as the Kent Messenger and community campaigning by groups in Dover and Thanet. Criticism was raised concerning proposed changes to urgent care and acute stroke pathways that involved consultations with stakeholders and contested options involving trusts like William Harvey Hospital and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital. Provider strains leading to cancelled elective procedures and delayed diagnostics drew attention from elected representatives including MPs from constituencies such as Canterbury (UK Parliament constituency), Maidstone and The Weald (UK Parliament constituency), and Gillingham and Rainham (UK Parliament constituency). Regulatory reviews by bodies including the Care Quality Commission and oversight from NHS Improvement prompted management responses and revised plans prior to the handover of functions to the integrated care board.
Category:Health in Kent Category:Health in Medway