The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 268 No 7203 p861-867
22 June 2002

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Small PCTs help to integrate NHS care

The fact that primary care trusts in England are too small to support a full range of services on their own is a real advantage of the latest National Health Service reorganisation, according to the chief executive of the NHS Confederation, Dr Gill Morgan.

"This is good because it makes them realise that they are part of an integrated system," Dr Morgan told a meeting of the All-Party Pharmacy Group on June 12. "Interdependence is a real asset of the reorganisation."

She believes that the change to PCTs and strategic health authorities will mean that standards in the health service will improve. "Facilitative ways of working will help people aspire to excellence rather than aim to meet targets," she said. "We need a real focus on how you incentivise people to achieve excellence, rather than punish them for failure."

Graham Butland, a former chief executive of South Essex Health Authority, is not so sure that the changes are for the better.

"If we increase the number of local NHS organisations from 95 health authorities to 314 PCTs do we increase or reduce the risk of postcode provision of services," he asked.

"Are we going to see a huge variety of decisions from those organisations? If PCTs are to be close to local communities, how does that sit with the restructuring of acute hospitals? Where does it sit with foundation hospitals?"