Commissioning for Health and Well-Being

This book explores what commissioning is, where it has come from and where it might be taking us.

Editor: Jon Glasby

Commissioning is now a key task for health and social care, yet policy aspirations often outstrip the infrastructure needed to support commissioners as they take difficult decisions about future services and to make commissioning a career of choice for future leaders. While commissioning was important under New Labour, it seems set to be even more fundamental now as commissioners think about future services in an era of austerity.

Against this background, this is the first comprehensive text on a key area of management practice, exploring what commissioning is, where it has come from and where it might be taking us. With a wide range of leading contributors from fields including health care, social care and local government, the book takes students, practitioners and managers through key stages of the commissioning cycle, as well as addressing cross-cutting themes such as the economics of commissioning, user involvement and commissioning in an era of personalisation. It is essential reading for everyone involved in the planning and delivery of health and social care - for social policy students, health and social care practitioners, managers and policy makers alike.

Professor Steve Field, Chair of the NHS Future Forum says:

A much-needed text on a key area of management practice within health and social care services by a great team of authors. It is ideal for students and for all who are interested in delivering better quality and better integrated health and social care services.

Peter Hay, former President of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services says: 

Commissioning gets a long overdue textbook. The comprehensive range of perspectives provides a great start for anyone wanting to consider how to practise or improve commissioning.

Commissioning for Health and Wellbeing is available to buy from Policy Press.


The publisher is Policy Press.

Commissioning for Health and Well-Being © Jon Glasby 2012.

All Rights Reserved. No part of this paper may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher except for the quotation of brief passages in reviews.

Review | 06.02.12

health & healthcare, social care, Review

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