Governing body nurses’ experiences of clinical commissioning groups: an observational study of two clinical commissioning groups in England

Abstract

The following paper is the first in a series of three papers to highlight current practice among governing body nurses, that is, nurses who hold the statutory role of nurse member on clinical commissioning groups in England. In this paper we present findings from a small pilot study into these nurses' experiences of Clinical Commissioning Groups. Their roles have emerged at a time of organisational change and in a period following extensive criticism of nursing and nurses in the media. We suggest that nurses' roles and experiences are affected by these contextual 'events' and by the emerging structures and diversity of clinical commissioning groups. We argue that governing body nurses' effectiveness in leading nurses and nursing on clinical commissioning groups may be affected by their relationships with other nurses, especially senior nurses, within clinical commissioning group localities. We suggest that it is timely to evaluate the effectiveness of statutory nurse member roles in influencing decision making on Clinical Commissioning Groups. and explore the experience of GBNs being appointed to CCGs; the ways in which they carry out their responsibilities; their perceived effectiveness in ensuring safe, patient-centred care, and the factors that influence this, in order to identify how GBNs can be best supported. INTRODUCTION

Do governing body and CSU nurses on clinical commissioning groups really lead a nursing agenda? Findings from a 2015 Survey of the Commissioning Nurse Leaders' Network Membership

“…The reasons why respondents wanted to be nurses on a CCG provide useful context in understanding the aspects of the CCG that they prioritise and are presented here as overarching themes that are reported in detail elsewhere (Allan & O'Driscoll ). Responses included wishing to have an impact on population health and an influence on commissioning and bringing a clinical input to decisions to ensure that nursing is part of commissioning decisions.…”

“…), observation work with two CCGs in the London area (Allan et al . ) and a pilot study (Allan et al . ) of a sample of CNLN members distributed by NHS England.…”

“…; Latimer ; Allan et al . ). Some researchers consider that CCGs and the associated changes enshrined in HSCA () are intended to replace the NHS with a privatised or quasi‐privatised service without consultation or consent (Pollock et al .…”

The ‘values journey’ of nursing and midwifery students selected using multiple mini interviews; Year One findings

“…Allan, Dixon, et al. (), Allan, O′Driscoll, et al. () suggest that disempowerment may increase the likelihood of failing to prioritize one's own personal values.…”

“…Such decline was in spite of aspirational qualities relating to caring, honesty and justice reported by some nursing students (Feller, ). The erosion of personal values due to healthcare organizational pressure is well‐documented (Allan, Dixon, Lee, Savage, & Tapson, ; Allan, O'Driscoll, Corbett, Liu, & Serrant, ; Hojat et al., ; Nuemann et al., ; Paley, ; Zimmerman et al., ) . Joinson () first reported what she conceptualized as ‘compassion fatigue’ amongst nurses.…”