What’s happening with specialised commissioning in the NHS? How likely is a delay in delegation to integrated care boards (ICBs)? How and what should Pharma and Medtech plan for amidst all this uncertainty?
Malcolm Qualie (former Medicines Lead for Specialised Services, NHS England) joined David Thorne (Principal Associate, Mtech Access) for our live webinar on Friday 8th December, to explore specialised commissioning in the NHS and what to expect as we head into 2024.
Last December, we held a webinar exploring changes in specialised commissioning and the increasing role of ICBs. 12 months on and the uncertainty remains. Devolution of specialised services to ICBs was set for April 2024, yet there are continued delays and confusion. The Northeast and Yorkshire region have agreed with NHS England to delay deferment of specialised services to April 2025. Will other regions follow suit?
In this new NHS Whispers webinar, Malcolm Qualie and David Thorne explored:
- Specialised commissioning in the NHS
- The risks and opportunities that devolution to ICBs will bring
- What we can expect to see in the short and longer term
- How industry can support ICB leaders through this transition
- How Pharma, Medtech, and Diagnostics companies, whose products come under specialised commissioning, can manage these risks and uncertainties
Listen to the podcast:
This episode is also available as a podcast. Listen below or search ‘Pharma Market Access Insights – from Mtech Access’ on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts.
About our speaker
Malcolm Qualie – former Medicines Lead for Specialised Services, NHS England
Malcolm took up the role of Pharmacy Lead for Specialised Commissioning within NHS England in April 2013, having held the post of Head of Health Policy and Pharmaceutical Advisor to the East Midland Specialised Commissioning Group for the previous 2 years. He became Head of Medicines within Specialised Commissioning in 2019.
Malcolm led the implementation of Early Access to Medicines in England and was a co-founding member of the national Cancer Drug Fund steering group. He has been a member of the National Pharmaceutical Supply Group and Medicines Optimisation CRG, an advisor to the National IVIg Guidelines Group, and a member of the NICE Commissioner reference panel for NICE Guidelines and NICE topic selection oversight panel. In addition, he has provided clinical pharmaceutical advice to the UK Pharmascan Oversight and Governance Committee, the Medicines Optimisation Oversight Group, and DHSC in relation to EU Exit and COVID-19. Malcolm became a Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in 2016. He retired from the NHS in February 2022.
This webinar forms part of our monthly NHS Whispers series, in which we have in-depth, comprehensive conversations with senior colleagues from the NHS. We explore what their immediate priorities are, what they see as the greatest challenges currently faced by the NHS, and how the NHS might respond to these challenges.
Recent webinars in the NHS Whispers series, now available on-demand, include:
- November 2023: ‘Integrated care in NHS Wales – what can England learn from its neighbour?’ with guest speaker, Paul Mears, CEO, Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board
- October 2023: ‘Unmet need in NHS primary care – how can industry best support PCN leaders?’ with guest speaker, Dr Farzana Hussain, GP Principal, The Project Surgery
- September 2023: ‘Population health management: a community effort across health and life sciences’ with guest speaker, Dr Mark Davies, Global Chief Health Officer, IBM
- April 2023: ‘Primary Care and ICBs – what is the next step in the integration journey?’ with guest speaker, Tim Goodson, Executive Officer, Dorset General Practice Alliance
- March 2023: ‘Data-led transformation in the NHS – partnering to optimise patient care’ with guest speaker, Stephen Slough, Chief Digital Information Officer, NHS Dorset
