Dear 8351-ga
Your best source of information is The National Health Service ‘NHS’
web site at
http://www.nhs.uk/
The NHS is responsible for Hospitals, Walk-in Centres, General
Practitioners (GPs), Opticians, and Pharmacies. It was set up just
over 50 years ago and is now the largest organisation in Europe.
The NHS works slightly differently in England, Wales, Scotland and
Northern Ireland. A good explanation is at
http://www.nhs.uk/thenhsexplained/priorities.asp
The front line of the NHS is the local doctor. Every UK citizen has a
right to be registered with a local GP and visits to the surgery are
free. This area is known as Primary Care. Others in this area are
nurses, health visitors, dentists, opticians, pharmacists and a range
of specialist therapists.
Specialised treatment is usually provided by a hospital and this is
known as Secondary Care. Except in the case of emergencies, hospital
treatment is arranged through the GP. This is called a referral.
Appointments and treatment are free.
To administer the NHS there is a number of administration layers. The
Government department is the Department of Health. The Strategic
Health Authorities manage the NHS locally and are a key link between
the Department of Health and the NHS. Primary Care Trusts cover all
the UK and Hospital Trusts are in most large towns and cities, both
offer a general range of services for the people in their areas.
The NHS is currently under great strain with demands for money and
long waiting lists. In an attempt to deal with these demands the NHS
Plan was published in July 2000 and is a plan for the next 10 years
which promises a 6.3 per cent increase in funding over five years to
2004. The outline of the plan and a full copy of the plan is available
athttp://www.nhs.uk/thenhsexplained/priorities.asp
The latest news and a news archive is at
http://www.nhs.uk/nhsupdate/default.asp
Useful links to information about health policies and strategies at
http://www.nhs.uk/usefullinks/default.asp#l4
The Department of Health web site is http://www.doh.gov.uk/nhs.htm and
has a wealth of information on Policy, Finance and Health Care
Improvement Strategies.
I hope this answers your question. Please ask for clarification of
this research, or if the links do not work, before rating the answer.
answerfinder-ga
Search Strategy
Went straight to the NHS web site. |
