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Class 1. The NHS and how we fit

Class Description: This class describes who we are and how we fit into the National Strategic Framework.

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.

The Department of Health is responsible for the provision of health services throughout the NHS. Key documents can be found on the Department of Health website which includes the following related papers:

The Gloucestershire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust was established on 1 April 2002.

Staff transferred to the Trust from four different organisations, Severn NHS Trust, East Gloucestershire NHS Trust, Gloucestershire County Council and Gloucestershire Health Authority. The Trust serves the county of Gloucestershire - approximately 560,000 people living in an area of 1000 square miles. The Trust employs almost 2200 staff who provide services from more than 50 sites. The Trust's annual income and expenditure is about £70 million.

The South West Strategic Health Authority - known as NHS South West is one of ten new Strategic Health Authorities across England, established in July 2006, replacing the previous 28. NHS South West was created by the merger of the three former Strategic Health Authorities in this region: Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire; Dorset and Somerset; and the South West Peninsula. This new streamlined structure will dramatically reduce management and administration costs, and will release up to £10 million for reinvestment in frontline services for patients. NHS South West oversees the largest geographical region in England – stretching from Land’s End to Tewkesbury, with a total population of over five million. The organisation oversees a £7 billion regional budget, and is responsible for ensuring that NHS patients in the region secure the best services, care and treatment. It will also lead huge reforms, with the NHS delivering new and more modern services, ensuring that patients are treated more quickly and in different ways such as in their own homes or in modern community facilities. Given the financial challenges in this part of England, NHS South West is focussing on making sure that the NHS gets into balance, whilst ensuring improved health and healthcare for the five million people who live in the area. Click here to access the NHS South West’s website http://www.southwest.nhs.uk/

For further information about the NHS in England, click here to enter the NHS Website www.nhs.uk