Nene Commissioning was formed in 2007, as a company limited by shares, to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the then new government policy of practice-based commissioning or PBC. PBC set out to encourage and facilitate GPs to get more involved in making decisions about change and investment in local healthcare.

Over this period the number of schemes led by Nene Commissioning increased dramatically until there were around two dozen in development and we began to get wider recognition for the work we were doing. In November 2008 we were privileged to be awarded the inaugural “Most Advanced PBC Consortium” in the UK award by the National Association of Primary Care.

Towards the end of 2008 the value and success of Nene Commissioning was becoming clearly established across the county. The strengths of such a large and advanced organisation were evident and the GPs that had originally formed the Daventry and South Northants PBC consortium approached us with a view to joining Nene Commissioning. Following a consultation process, the practices in that part of the county were welcomed into the consortium as our fourth locality from 1st April 2009. At the same time, two practices in Oundle and Wansford that had previously looked outside the county for their PBC support became members of Nene Commissioning. This expansion effectively makes Nene Commissioning the largest PBC consortium in the country.

In April 2009, Nene Commissioning led an application to become a national Integrated Care pilot. From a shortlist of 109 applicants, the Northamptonshire application was one of only sixteen approved. The two year pilot that includes primary, secondary care, social care and third sector partners, aims to take the already successful Pro Active Care model and improve and develop step-up and step-down care to strengthen community management of patients whose only current option is a hospital bed. The Partnership will work to ensure increased choice by co-designing care plans with individuals who are at high risk of emergency hospital admission. In only two years Nene Commissioning has established itself as a national leader in clinical commissioning.