What we do

Clinical Senates will provide independent clinical advice that is safe, evidence-based and impartial. With its broad range of members including clinicians and professionals from health care and patients and citizen representatives, the Senate has a unique source of expertise and knowledge to draw upon.

As non-statutory bodies, Clinical Senates operate independently and do not enforce any advice it provides.  Commissioners - the Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG) and NHS England - remain accountable for the commissioning of services and the providers are accountable for the quality of service delivery.

Clinical Senates will respond to requests from commissioners and other health and care bodies such as local authority Health and Wellbeing Boards, to provide clinical advice and strategic leadership that will support commissioners to make the best decisions for the health of the populations they serve. 

East of England Clinical Senate has summarised the type of advice and support it can provide  into three offers.

View our East of England Senate Offer document.

Offer 1: Formal clinical advice

Clinical Senate will respond to requests from NHS England, Clinical Commissioning Groups, providers, Local Authority / Health & Wellbeing Boards and other stakeholder for formal clinical advice on matters that will support commissioner decision making and / or where there is a need for advice or recommendations on complex clinical issues would benefit from a whole system, strategic response.

Offer 2: Informal support

Clinical Senate will support commissioners in the early stages of service development with informal clinical advice, i.e. being a place to enable and have safe conversations with other clinicians and stakeholders on proposed service development.

Offer 3: Thought leadership

Clinical Senate will proactively develop and provide clinically driven advice and thinking on areas for service improvement or where a whole system strategic response is required.

In addition clinical senates support NHS England’s assurance process for service change by providing independent clinical advice on service change proposals.

Clinical Senate involvement in this process does not preclude clinical senate from offering formal or informal advice to Commissioners at an earlier or developmental stage of the service change proposal.