dc.description.abstract |
Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) are responsible for commissioning secondary care for
their local population, thus when patient choice comes into effect in December 2005
they will play a key role in choice by defining the four or five providers offered to GPs
and patients for elective surgery.
A broader overview on commissioning can be
found in Cranfield University's report 'A Review of Patient Choice in the NHS' but the purpose of
this document is to explain changes to the commissioning process under choice and
the effect these might have on trusts.
The
Healthcare Management Research Group of Cranfield Postgraduate Medical School
has been working with Bedford Hospital NHS Trust to evaluate the possible
implications of patient choice.
During February and March 2004 a number of meetings were held with key NHS
stakeholders, including Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs), Primary Care Trusts
(PCTs) and General Practitioners (GPs) in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire,
Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire and Northamptonshire, and also the Department of
Health in London. Conclusions from these interviews were supported by a literature
review of academic papers, news articles, books, government guidelines and patient
surveys. In particular, the process by which PCTs commission secondary care
providers is assessed and the nine pilot schemes were evaluated.
Department of Health guidelines have only been issued for choice at six months so
most PCTs are concentrating on meeting the six month target and have not yet
formulated a plan for choice at referral. A dominant theme that emerged was
therefore one of uncertainty, hence PCTs' predictions for how they will run choice
form the basis of this paper rather than definitive policies. |
en_UK |