Strategic commissioning plans: guidance

7. Setting objectives, measuring outcomes and reporting on performance

7.1 The indicators that underpin the statutory national health and wellbeing outcomes include important measures of whole system working, the success of which will be key to shifting the balance of care from institutions to the community, e.g., reducing unplanned hospital admission rates and addressing delayed discharges. Strategic commissioning plans will identify the resources that are being used to help address these challenges, and will set out how service provision will shift over time to support anticipatory and preventative care.

7.2 The Act places a duty on Integration Authorities to publish an annual performance report, which will allow progress to be measured and benchmarked against performance in other areas. Integration Authorities will be expected to set out clearly, in their strategic commissioning plans, how improvement will be delivered against the statutory outcomes and associated indicators. In addition, they should set out how rebalancing care will enable the delivery of key NHS targets in respect of A&E performance, the 18 Week Treatment Time Guarantee, and assuring financial balance. The annual performance report produced by each Integration Authority will need to set out actual performance in comparison to the objectives set out in the strategic commissioning plan.