Health trust to ditch 'confusing' name (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Out goes PCT, in comes NHS

3:47pm Monday 30th March 2009 in News By Claire Lomax

The local NHS organisation responsible for all health services delivered in the district is changing its name after a consultation revealed confusion over its role and function.

From Wednesday, Bradford and Airedale Teaching Primary Care Trust (tPCT) will re-branded NHS Bradford and Airedale.

The decision to change the name of the organisation, which was only created in October 2006, following the merger of four primary care trusts in the district, follows a consultation by the Department of Health with primary care trusts and other interested parties.

The consultation confirmed that most people were not clear about the role and function of PCTs. It found however, that making reference to the NHS or using the NHS logo led to a 90 per cent recognition rate among the public.

A Bradford and Airedale Teaching Primary Care Trust spokesman said: “The decision to change our name to NHS Bradford and Airedale follows national consultation by the Department of Health which showed that patients and the public are unclear about what primary care trusts do.

“By using similar language, we want our new identity to help people understand that we are the local leader of health in Bradford and Airedale and play a central role in planning and funding services across the district.

“We are committed to keeping costs to a minimum so although the name change will be effective from 1 April, there will be a gradual transition to the new identity by running down existing supplies of publications and pre-printed stationery.

“External building signs will be changed over time as part of a replacement programme.

“Legally and through statute we remain Bradford and Airedale Teaching Primary Care Trust. However, all public-facing branding will now refer to NHS Bradford and Airedale.

“The change in Bradford completes the renaming of all five West Yorkshire primary care trusts.”

e-mail: claire.lomax@telegraphandargus.co.uk

The NHS locally

• It is the job of NHS Bradford and Airedale to make sure that healthcare is available for everyone who needs it in the district, whether that be a community pharmacist, family doctor, dentist or hospital treatment.

• It works with local doctors and hospitals to make sure the services they provide meet the needs of the people who live in the district.

• In the year 2008/2009 it managed a budget of £822 million – around £1,518 per person in the district – to make sure every resident could get the healthcare they needed.

• Almost £480 million of that was used to pay for secondary care, including hospital treatment.

• The region’s strategic health authority, NHS Yorkshire and Humber, is the headquarters of the NHS locally and acts as a link between the Department of Health and the NHS. It does not provide health services. It ensures local trusts, such as NHS Bradford and Airedale and Yorkshire Ambulance Trust, operate effectively.

• Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which manages BRI and St Luke’s, operates independently as it is a foundation trust and is regulated by a different organisation – Monitor.