CCGs will need to improve commissioning of mental health services, says health department

The new doctor led clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) will be expected to improve the quality of commissioning of mental health services in England and to improve on current standards, MPs have been told.

Department of Health officials said that commissioning groups were expected to do a better job in this area than some primary care trusts had done in the past. The officials were giving evidence to the parliamentary health select committee on 12 March as part of its inquiry into post-legislative scrutiny of the Mental Health Act 2007. The inquiry is intended to assess the effects of the act five years after its introduction as the cornerstone of mental health legislation in England and Wales.

MPs …