Practical commissioning: your questions answered about influencing clinical commissioning

Q Will clinical commissioning really be 'bottom up' and give primary care nurses influence in service design?

A Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs)will have an executive nurse; a member of the CCG governing body responsible for ensuring CCGs exercise functions effectively, economically and with good governance.

The nurse, and other members, must be 'in tune' with member practices and promote inclusion. The executive nurse must be a registered nurse, highly regarded as a clinical leader and bring detailed insight from a nursing perspective into service redesign from beyond primary care. Their time commitment is suggested to be a minimum of one day per month. The nurse cannot work in general practice.