NHS Primary Care Trusts have paid an estimated £26 million on consultancy firms this year to prepare for the introduction of new Clinical Commissioning Groups run by doctors.
Pulse report:
PCTs have paid millions of pounds to private consultancy firms to prepare CCGs for authorisation and begin commissioning services, a Pulse investigation reveals.
Managers have spent an estimated £26m so far this year with companies including PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Capita for CCG projects such as ‘mock authorisation panels’ and training programmes, and to compensate for the lack of experienced managers left at PCT level.
The figures, obtained from 48 PCTs in England under the Freedom of Information Act, show trusts have spent an average of £173,000 on private consultancy support so far this financial year, equating to an estimated spend of £26m across the 152 PCTs in England.