Su Sear Senior Public Health Improvement Specialist, Cumbria County Council, Kendal
Abstract
On 1st January 2013 Cumbria Primary Care Trust commissioned a single new provider for smoking cessation in one district of Cumbria, whilst maintaining the previous provider across the rest of Cumbria. The new provider was engaged under a payment by results tariff payment.
This contracting arrangement has enabled commissioners to identify a clear difference in performance between the two models of delivery of a stop smoking service.
In line with the rest of England, which has seen a 17% reduction in the number of people achieving a 4 week quit, the county wide service has struggled to recruit smokers. In contrast, in the first two quarters of 2013/14, the new service has far out performed expectations and that of the previous service. The number of people setting a quit date in comparison to the same period the previous year more than doubled (122% increase), resulting in a 176% increase in 4 week quits (167 quits to 462).
It is believed that this success is as a result of:
• Investment in staff, resources and infrastructure
• Greater accessibility – the provider purchased a mini bus which accesses smaller communities
• Immediate provision of nicotine replacement therapy at the point of contact
Source of funding: Service is funded by Cumbria County Council Public Health.
