Should Primary Care Trusts Be Made More Locally Accountable? April 11, 2008
Posted by western4uk in Accountability, Corporate Governance, Governance, Grey Literature, Management, NHS, Primary Care.Tags: Accountability, Grey Literature, NHS, Organisational Design, Politics, Primary Care
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The devolution of increased power to local NHS bodies and front-line professionals,has resulted in calls to ensure that those who take on increased responsibility are held to account. There is no clarity on how this may be achieved or the extent people want more control over how their primary care trust (PCT) spends its money.
The main political parties im to end the ‘democratic deficit’ and ensure local people have increased input on the delivery of local health care, and this will be a central theme of Professor Lord Darzi’s review of the NHS. The King’s Fund report, Should Primary Care Trusts Be Made More Locally Accountable?, makes a thorough assessment of the various options for making PCTs more accountable to their local communities.
It states that if the aim of involving the public is to give more democratic validity to the health service, systematic changes – such as giving local councillors control over PCT budgets, or electing PCT board members – would be appropriate.
However, improving the quality of services is the target, then an incremental approach would be better. Targeted initiatives – such as citizens’ juries or enhanced Public Patient Involvement Forums – focusing on specific PCT functions may prove to be a more successful route to accountability.
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