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The NHS and how we fitClass description: Planning documents outlining how we fit into the NHS structure
The National Health Service was set up in 1948 to provide healthcare for all citizens, based on need, not the ability to pay. It is made up of a wide range of health professionals, support workers and organisations. It is now the largest organisation in Europe and is recognised as one of the best health services in the world by the World Health Organisation. The NHS employs more than 1.5 million people, of which just short of half are clinically qualified. It received more than £90 billion in 2007/08 and this has risen from £65 billion in 2003. The NHS is funded by the taxpayer. This means it is accountable to Parliament. It is managed by Department of Health - which is directly responsible to the secretary of state for health, currently Alan Johnson. The department sets overall health policy in England, is the headquarters for the NHS and is responsible for putting policy into practice. It also sets targets for the NHS and monitors performance through its four directors of health and social care. Following reconfiguration of ambulance services from 1 July 2006, there are now 11 ambulance services covering England which provide emergency access to health care. The diagram below shows how they fit into the overall structure of the NHS as a whole in the provision of healthcare services. Partnership WorkingThe Trust has a Patient, Public and Stakeholder Involvement Strategy which expresses our commitment to delivering high quality, people centred services and enabling patients, the public and stakeholders in the development, organisation and evaluation of services. The patient, public and stakeholder involvement strategy can be obtained from the Trust’s website here. The Trust works in partnership with the 7 Primary Care Trusts that commission services for the area in which we provide accident and emergency ambulance services. Separate contracts are in place with 27 NHS organisations (hospitals and PCTs) for non-emergency Patient Transport Services and these extend as far as Bristol and Wiltshire. A list of these contracts is available and of the associated Service Level Agreements. Please note, however, some of the information contained in the contracts and Service Level Agreements may fall within an exemption of the Freedom of Information Act relating to performance by the parties concerned. Such information is therefore confidential and will not be made available. In addition, the Trust carries out non-contracted Patient Transport Services work for any NHS Trust in the UK as required. We work closely with NHS South West, the Strategic Health Authority that oversees the performance management of the Trust. Please see the links section of this web site for information about NHS South West and the PCTs they cover. Close working relationships with other NHS organisations and external agencies also exist to assist both with the provision of emergency and non-emergency services and the overall management of the Trust. These include:
Information Sharing Agreements are in place, or are being established, with these agencies to ensure any information shared meets the legal and NHS standards for information management. A list of these, and in most cases the documents themselves, can be obtained via the Trust’s Publication Scheme. LinksInternal Structure Information |
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Trust Headquarters,
Unit
3 Abbey Court,
Sowton Industrial Estate,
Exeter, EX2 7HY, Tel: 01392 261500,
Fax: 01392 261510, Email: publicrelations@swast.nhs.uk |
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This class of information describes who we are and how we fit into the National Strategic Framework of the NHS.