A social enterprise is an organisation that is run along business lines, but where any profits are reinvested into the community or into service developments.

The idea of becoming a social enterprise appealed hugely to the GPs in Nene Commissioning and following a period as a company limited by shares, the consortium became a Community Interest Company in June 2008.

Community Interest Companies have a social purpose at the core of what they do. This has a strong alignment with Nene Commissioning’s commitment to improve the health of the practice populations it serves. As a Community Interest Company, the not for profit element is enshrined in the constitution of the organisation. A key feature of this type of company is an ‘asset lock’. This means that the assets of the organisation and any surplus or profit the consortium makes must be retained by the business to further its stated aims.  Any funding the organisation receives must be used to improve the health of the population it serves.

In addition, there is a requirement to ensure that there is engagement from the communities the organisation is designed to serve. Public and patient engagement is also a fundamental part of commissioning. As a Community Interest Company Nene Commissioning is accountable for its social impact, and as such will be annually regulated by the Community Interest Company Regulator.

Working together for the benefit of the communities they serve has been a driving factor for GPs in the establishment of Nene Commissioning.  Our Annual Report and Business Plan demonstrates some of these benefits but in essence we have

• Developed new services to be delivered closer to the communities we serve
• Made it easier for local people to access services
• Invested in equipment locally to reduce the need for hospital admission
• Focused attention at the specific health needs of local communities

Nene Commissioning has been developing its role as a community leader in healthcare not only by bringing together GP practices across the county, but also by providing practical leadership to local health and social care organisations in their application to become an integrated care partnership. This successful application aims to build on the Pro Active Care model, which has a core focus on developing local solutions to avoiding hospital admission for the most vulnerable patients in the community.

This scheme has developed through a partnership approach which has included health and social care organisations, Age Concern and patient representation. The Pro Active Care Board includes patient representation and the implementation of the scheme has used patient experience and patients telling their real-life stories to demonstrate the social benefits of the scheme.

This is one example of where Nene Commissioning has supported community engagement; others include:

• Encouraging patient and carer input into the development of the priorities in our 2008/09 commissioning plan
• Developing a close working relationship with the emerging Northamptonshire LINk group
• Discussing our work with community groups including practice-specific patient involvement groups and wider networks such as the Northampton Voluntary and Community sector forum
• Using patient opinion surveys to support the evaluation of a number of pilot schemes.

In order to develop a more focused and coherent approach to patient/carer and community involvement the Board has agreed an engagement strategy. This is centred on building public engagement into the development of business cases at the earliest stage. To date we have:

• Developed a database of existing community engagement networks
• Contacted these networks to introduce Nene Commissioning and open the door to future engagement
• Begun a programme of recruiting Nene Commissioning “associates” (individuals and community groups) in readiness for specific engagement projects in 2009/10
• Taken a “road show” to community groups on request.

A programme of specific engagement with patients, carers and professionals around end of life care is currently in development and could provide the template for future exercises in engagement.

Follow this link for a copy of our first report to the Community Interest Companies Regulator.