Published on 07 September 2021

Host Commissioner

Host Commissioner guidelines: People diagnosed with a Learning Disability and/or Autism

NHS England (NHSE) and NHS Improvement (NHSI) published Host Commissioner guidance in January 2021. This describes a clear expectation that as the local CCG we ensure that we have assurances and maintain effective quality surveillance of all independent hospitals within our geographical boundaries.  There are three Independent Hospitals in Halton and Warrington supporting people with a diagnosis of a mental health condition or a diagnosis of a learning disability and / or autism. The hospitals are caring for people who have been placed by many different Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) into Halton and Warrington. A list of the hospitals is provided at the end of this page.

NHSE Cheshire and Mersey

Whilst the Host Commissioner guidance relates specifically to the quality of care for people with a diagnosis a Learning Disability and / or Autism, NHS Cheshire and Mersey have produced some supplementary guidance to support the Host Commissioner guidance which highlights the approach adopted locally to implement the guidance. To support a more holistic approach to the quality oversight within Independent Hospitals, CCGs will provide quality oversight of all independent hospitals, including hospital providing mental health services, in addition to Learning Disability and Autism as referenced in the Host Commissioner Guidance (2021). NHS Halton CCG and NHS Warrington CCG will work collaboratively with the NHSE Specialist Commissioning teams to extend quality oversight to all people placed in independent hospitals within their geographical locality.

You can contact us via our Host Commissioner inbox - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

At NHS Halton CCG and NHS Warrington CCG, our role as Host Commissioner is to:

• Maintain quality surveillance of our local Independent Hospitals.
• Be the point of contact for all placing CCGs in relation to quality assurance queries.
• Collate intelligence and triangulate information to highlight any quality or safety issues.
• To share and request intelligence across commissioners placing people in our area.  

The role of CCGs placing in Halton or Warrington is to:

• Talk to us prior to admitting a person into Halton or Warrington
• Retain clinical oversight for the care of people you place in our area and ensure your contingency plans are robust.
• Talk to us about any quality or governance concerns you identify within our local Independent Hospitals.
• Collaborate with us when we set up collaborative assurance meetings across CCGs. The purpose of these is to share information across stakeholders and work together to support Independent Hospitals to maintain quality, mitigate risk and resolve concerns.     

Quality Surveillance in Halton and Warrington

NHS Halton CCG and NHS Warrington CCG are developing their quality oversight for Independent Hospitals in our area, and this includes:

• Ongoing and supportive contact to seek assurance about the quality of care delivered.
• Scheduled yearly and responsive quality visits.
• Developing quarterly quality submissions against the NHS Halton CCG and NHS Warrington CCG Quality Schedule.
• Triangulating other intelligence that arises from other sources such as stakeholders, 6/8-week checks, Care and Treatment Reviews etc.
• Establishing a formal and collaborative assurance process across placing CCGs and other stakeholders where concerns have been identified. 

Reporting safeguarding concerns

We work very closely with our Local Authority safeguarding Leads to share intelligence about any allegations of abuse or neglect. Should you have any safeguarding concerns or wish to make a safeguarding referral it will be your responsibility as placing CCG to contact the relevant Local Authority. Halton and Warrington safeguarding teams will also contact you directly should a local safeguarding concern be raised that involves the person you have placed in Halton or Warrington. 

For any safeguarding concerns about an Independent Hospital in Halton please contact Halton Borough Council, Adult Social Care Safeguarding Adults Team:

For any safeguarding concerns about an Independent Hospital in Warrington please contact Warrington Local Authority, First Response Team:

Please talk to us when you are considering placing a person with a mental health diagnosis or a diagnosis of a Learning Disability and/or Autism in Halton or Warrington

If you intend to admit a person within Halton or Warrington, we invite you to contact us in advance and we will be able to advise you of any current safety or quality concerns. If you do admit into one of the local Independent Hospital, please could you complete the admission template and also notify us again using the same template when the person is discharged. When contacting us please do not include person identifiable information in your emails. As Host CCG we will never ask for identifiable information about people you place in our area. 

How to tell us about a concern

It is important that CCGs placing in Halton or Warrington talk to us about any quality or governance concerns they may identify. This will help us triangulate information and also address any identified concerns as Host Commissioner. We also encourage our independent providers to talk to us about concerns that arise.  You can tell us about a concern by emailing us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Please note, we will only be collating concerns to assist in quality assurance oversight, it remains the responsibility of the placing CCG to deal when any concerns as they arise.

NHS Halton CCG and NHS Warrington CCG will work with placing commissioners, providers and NHSE to ensure a proportionate response is adopted when addressing any quality concerns. Any quality and safety concerns identified will be managed in line with NHSE/I Levels of Quality Surveillance (NHSE/I, 2021)

Halton Independent Hospitals

Provider                                                     Address

Elysium Healthcare                                      Bennetts Lane, Widnes, Cheshire, WA8 0GT

Gateway Recovery                                      0151 422 2140

Warrington Independent Hospitals

Provider                                                     Address

Elysium Healthcare                                      Floyd Drive, Warrington, Cheshire, WA2 8DB

St Marys Hospital                                        01925 423300

Elysium Healthcare                                      Townfield Lane, Winick, Warrington, WA2 8TR

Arbury Court                                                01925 400600

References:

NHSE/I (2021). Learning Disability and Autism – Host Commissioner Guidance Quality oversight of CCG-commissioned inpatient care for people with a learning disability and autistic people.

NHSE/I Cheshire & Mersey (2021). Quality Oversight and Managing Quality Concerns within Independent Providers of NHS Funded Care within the Cheshire and Merseyside Geographical Catchment Area