Nature of Health Service Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nature of Health Service Management - Essay Example It was founded to serve three major purposes: to offer uniform healthcare in all parts of the UK; provide free health services to all citizens without discrimination based on medical requirements; and lastly, to offer all-inclusive services covering medical needs. The name NHS refers to three of the four state financed healthcare systems in the UK including the English NHS, NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland (HSC). The NHS offers all-inclusive health services to all basic and community healthcare, intermediate care and hospital-based care, and provides information services, as well as helping individuals in relation to health promotion, disease prevention, self-care, rehabilitation and after-care (NHS, 2010). The current NHS boasts of a new constitution mandate of the government in enhancing NHS accountability in the provision of a comprehensive health service out of national taxation and support (DH, 2010. P.4). The NHS is under Department of Hea lth that is headed by the secretary of state for health who answers to the prime minister, which also runs England’s 10 Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) - which manage all NHS activities in England, with each SHA supervising all the NHS trusts in its jurisdiction (NHS, 2010).   ... The trusts include structural facilities and other facilities such as medical evacuation services, ambulance services, and consultation services. There are various NHS trusts and authorities overseeing running of NHS, which include acute trusts, primary care trusts, ambulance trusts, care trusts, mental health trusts, foundation trusts, strategic health authorities, and special health authorities. Primary care trusts (PCTs) provide health and social care services for general health needs of local communities. Generally, there are about 151 PCTs in England, controlling 80% of NHS budget (NHS, 2010). Acute trusts oversee running of hospitals, ensuring hospitals offer good health services and meet financial obligations. Ambulance trusts offer emergency link to healthcare through ambulance services. Basically, there are 12 ambulance services in England dealing with emergencies that are categorized into category A emergencies that are life-threatening condition and category B or C emergen cies that are not life threatening (NHS, 2010). On the other hand, care trusts are institutions that offer both health and social care services, and currently, there are very few. Mental health trusts offer health and social care services to patients with mental health problems through primary care or specialist care. Moreover, strategic health authorities oversee management of local NHS on behalf of the secretary of state, and they were formed by government in 2002 (NHS, 2010). Lastly, special health authorities are national institution offering health services to entire country and are not restricted to a local community. The NHS is managed by health