How our health system works
The Department of Health
The Department of Health is a Department of State, meaning it is a government organisation responsible for carrying out the decisions of government ministers.
The aim of the Department of Health is to improve the health and well-being of people in England. It does this by setting the standards and broad working practices of the NHS and local social services.
The National Health Service (NHS)
The NHS is the publicly funded health care system of the United Kingdom. It provides the majority of healthcare in the UK from general practitioners to Accident and Emergency departments, hospitals, long term healthcare and dentistry.
NHS Trusts
Hospitals in the NHS are managed by NHS Trusts (sometimes called acute or foundation Trusts). These Trusts make sure that hospitals provide high quality health care, and that they spend their money efficiently.
Mental Health Trusts
Mental Health Trusts provide specialist health and social care services for people with severe mental health problems such as psychotic illness or severe anxiety. People with mild mental health problems like depression or anxiety are usually treated by their doctor or other primary care service.
Care Trusts
Care Trusts are organisations that work in both health and social care (see section on social care). They carry out a range of services, including social care, mental health services or primary care services. They usually provide services to people whose needs are more complex to make sure that they do not get lost in the health care system.
At the moment there are only a small number of Care Trusts, though more will be set up in the future.
Strategic Health Authorities
Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) are responsible for managing and setting the strategic direction of the NHS locally. They support PCTs and other NHS organisations and make sure they are performing well by monitoring their performance and taking action to improve services when they are poor or failing.
Primary Care Trusts (PCTs)
Primary Care Trusts are local organisations that plan, organise and finance health care in the local area. They are responsible for improving the overall health of the local community and making sure that the right services are provided. PCTs are at the centre of the NHS and control 80% of the budget.
Charities and voluntary organisations
In addition to the government health system, there are many charities and voluntary organisations that work to improve the health and wellbeing of people living in the UK.
Some of these are partly or wholly funded by the government while others use fundraising programs to fund the services that they provide.
The Terrence Higgins Trust is a good example of a non government organisation that provides a wide range of programmes for people living with or affected by HIV.
