The South West Provider Collaborative (SWPC) is a partnership of five NHS organisations, one community interest company and two independent sector organisations[1]. This collaborative commissions a wide range of specialised mental health, learning disability and autism services at scale, to a population of five million people across six integrated care systems, with a focus on ensuring people receive high quality care as close to home as possible. The SWPC commenced in shadow form as a New Care Model in late 2016, and then became a fast-track provider collaborative with full commissioning responsibility for Adult Secure services in October 2020.
The collaborative uses a lead provider model, with Devon Partnership NHS Trust (DPT) acting as the lead provider. DPT therefore holds the contract with NHS England and has established governance arrangements locally to manage oversight of these commissioning responsibilities through an executive-led commissioning board known as the Oversight Executive Group.
Within the SWPC, there are two main oversight groups, the South West Mental Health Chief Executives Group, and the Oversight Executive Group from which it takes assurance. Executive members form part of the Oversight Executive Group, and are drawn from each provider partner, their function being to oversee the strategic plan and act as the senior liaison person within each provider partner and key link to their local ICS. They also peer assure delivery of the collaborative’s service lines across quality, activity, and financial performance, seeking collective assurance on risk and delivery of the agreed strategic aims. The commissioning team of the SWPC provide routine performance reporting to the group for this purpose.
These structures are underpinned by a Clinical Senate for each service line, with senior clinical leadership drawn from across the region, and a Finance and Activity Group supported by senior finance leads from across the region. A programme director and a medical director are the responsible officers for the collaborative, appointed by the lead provider chief executive. The responsible officers are executive members of both the Oversight Executive Group and the executive team of the lead provider and are supported by a team of around 20 people with skills in commissioning, finance, and programme management.
The SWPC has collectively agreed a shared set of strategic aims that enable all provider partners to unite around a common vision for improving patient services across the South West. These strategic aims enable the SWPC to monitor delivery through aligned reporting and oversight, providing a clear, considered, and consistent view of overall operational performance to all provider partners, whilst developing a shared understanding of progress, successes, and key challenges. It also supports comprehensive assurance to the lead provider that the collaborative is discharging its roles and responsibilities effectively.
[1] Devon Partnership NHS Trust, Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust, Elysium Healthcare, Priory and Livewell South West (Community Interest Company)