Wirral NHS Structure
There are several NHS Trusts providing services to the people of the Wirral:
The
Strategic Health Authority (SHA)
The SHA, NHS North West,
gives local NHS trusts and PCTs a strategic overview and leadership; it
develops local organisations and their workforces and it ensures that systems and
processes are in place that provide patients with the best care and treatment possible.
The Primary Care Trust (PCT)
Primary care is the care provided by people you normally see when you first have
a health problem. It might be a visit to a doctor or dentist, an optician for an
eye test, or just a trip to a pharmacist to buy cough mixture. NHS Walk-in Centres,
and the phone service NHS Direct, are also part of primary care. All of these services
are managed for Wirral residents by NHS Wirral
.
Your PCT will work with local authorities and other agencies that provide health
and social care locally to make sure that your local community's needs are being met. PCTs are now at the centre of the NHS. As they are local organisations, they
are in the best position to understand the needs of their community, so they can
make sure that the organisations providing health and social care services are working
effectively.
Hospital Trusts
Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust carries
out most operations and major specialist treatments on Wirral residents. This is
often once the patient has been referred to the Trust by his or her family doctor,
but also when people are brought into the Accident and Emergency department. However
since the introduction of Choose & Book, patients can now choose from up to
4 hospitals or treatment centres commissioned by their PCT to provide services.
Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology NHS
Foundation Trust is a specialist regional cancer centre. It provides
cancer services to patients within Cheshire, Merseyside & the Isle of Man. The
PCTs commission Services from CCO so Wirral residents can benefit from the Centre's
expertise.
Partnership Trust
The Cheshire & Wirral Partnership NHS
Foundation Trust works across Wirral & Cheshire. It commissions specialist
mental health, learning disabilities, drug & alcohol services for the people
of the Wirral.