Contract Performance Management for education commissioning

In December 2008 NHS London introduced a new way of measuring how Education Providers ensure that the next generation of healthcare professionals have the right skills to deliver world-class patient care. Education Providers include Higher Education Institutes and Trusts as Education Providers.

The annual Contract Performance Management (CPM) system measures Education Providers (EPs) against an agreed set of contract performance indicators (CPIs). The CPM system focuses on value for money and fitness for purpose, defined as the suitability of newly qualified professionals to perform the roles required to deliver the very best and appropriate healthcare possible in London.

We assess fitness for purpose by looking at how NHS service providers have worked collaboratively with EPs with the marketing of courses, the recruitment of students and the ongoing development of programme content. We assess value for money by looking at indicators such as attrition rates and the number of qualifiers from courses compared with the number commissioned.

Our CPM system does not focus on fitness for practice. This is monitored by the professional regulatory bodies. These organisations scrutinise programme content to check that it covers all the elements required to ensure that healthcare professionals can practice their profession safely. We also assess whether professional regulatory body reviews have highlighted any areas of risk. If there are risks we work with the professional regulatory bodies to ensure that our EPs and practice partners develop appropriate action plans to tackle the problems.

We will use the results of our CPM assessments, and the information coming out of professional regulatory body reviews to support decisions about where to place future education and training investment, rewarding high performing EPs and providing intensive support for those not reaching the required standard in order to help them to improve.

We will be publishing our results each year showing the performance of EPs within each profession under review. At the end of May 2011 we will publish the results of the CPM cycle reviewing performance in the academic year 2009/10 for the following; Nursing, Midwifery, Dietetics, Physiotherapy, Radiography, Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Podiatry, Clinical Psychology, Child Psychotherapy, Cytology and CPPD. Other professions results will be published once a robust system has been established.

The CPM system is enhanced each year in collaboration with Education Providers to ensure that it remains fit for purpose, transparent and that processes are streamlined.

Additional information on the CPM system

From the links below you will find an explanation of what the results mean, frequently asked questions and resources for EPs and NHS Service Providers.

• Contract Performance Management Results - what the ratings tell us
• Frequently asked questions
• Resources for EPs and NHS Service Providers

To complement this CPM process NHS London has developed a Provider Development approach. Two of the Department of Health's key World Class Commissioning competencies as defined with the ‘World Class Commissioning Vision' address the ability to stimulate the market and the need to promote improvement and innovation. The vision articulated within the Workforce for London: A Strategic Framework is to adopt a more systematic and progressive approach to working with and supporting education providers to meet our challenges whilst having a clear procedure of intervention where improvements are required.

To achieve this we have developed a Provider Development approach. Establishing a robust provider development approach involves the developing of tools, processes and techniques and the building of capability over a period of time.

Developing the provider development approach including a set of transparent risk based interventions based on contract performance will now involve:

• defining and agreeing the governing design principles
• reviewing and applying leading best practices where appropriate
• building tools where required
• working collaboratively with providers to involved interested parties in the development work.

If you would like to find out more about the Contract Provider Management system for non-medical education, please contact the CPM team at CPM@london.nhs.uk.