Memorandum by Dr Ian Rutter, OBE (FT 24)
CAREER HISTORY
Partner at Westcliffe Medical Centre, Shipley,
North Bradford, for the last 22 years.
Ex-Continuing Medical Education Tutor
Ex-Bradford GP Vocational Training System Course
Organiser
GP Adviser to the Department of Health
Chief Executive of North Bradford Primary Care
Trust for the past two years
North Bradford PCT has a population of 94,000
with 12 GP practices and was winner of PCT of the Year in 2001.
It has a long history of collaborative working with Bradford hospitals
in locality service and is one of the four PCTs in the Bradford
and Airedale metropolitan district.
North Bradford PCT would welcome the Government's
development of the NHS Foundation Trust believing that the financial
flexibility and less central control enjoyed could have direct
influence on improving patient care. This new model of working
care provision is different to the centrally run public hospitals
at present and different again from present private hospitals.
It is the exact details of this proposal however
that are pivotal to its success and the inspection process by
the new Commission for Health, Audit & Inspection against
the national standards will be crucial. The rapid roll out of
the new financial flows reforms are also vital to its success
and importantly for us the exact arrangements by which foundation
hospitals will be run by their elected board of governors, local
residents, patients and staff. As the PCT will share a common
agenda with the Trust we will have the same broad view of the
role of secondary care and being represented on the Board of Governors
will enable us to influence the Management Board.
New contractual arrangements with more formalised
contacts between PCTs will need to be in place which should help
facilitate a clear understanding of partnership where the responsibilities
for demand capacity and flow in the whole health care system are
clearly defined. We, in Bradford, are a long way down this present
road as part of the Pursuing Perfection Programme.
In summary, the strategic direction is correct
but the detailed guidance will be crucial however to the long
term success.
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