Thirteen primary care trusts are to be established on April 1 this year in England, the Government announced on January 7. A further 40 or more PCTs are expected to be formed in October.
PCTs will control over 80 per cent of health spending for their areas and will be able to commission and provide services such as community nursing, community hospitals and services to the elderly.
The full list of first-wave PCTs is: South Manchester, Daventry, Southampton East, Fenland, North Peterborough, South Peterborough, Tendring, Epping Forest, Southend, Central Derby, Mansfield District, North East Lincolnshire, and Newark and Sherwood. Four further applications for PCT status from April, made by groups in London and the South West, are to be decided upon shortly. Each application has had to demonstrate broad local support for the formation of the trust and to provide a clear impact assessment of any local changes or reconfiguration of services.
Each of the first-wave PCTs will have areas of special interest on which they will focus. Examples include developing local care centres where National Health Service, local authority and voluntary groups can work together in Southampton East, and tackling hospital discharge problems in Southend.
Two PCTs have been approved for an October 1 start: Hertsmere and West Norfolk. A further wave of more than 40 applicants for an October start is expected and the Department of Health said that it had had indications that over 100 more applications would be made for PCT, status starting in 2001.