Primary Care Groups and Trusts

HC Deb 20 July 2000 vol 354 cc281-2W

Sir Teddy Taylor

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the reasons for setting up(a) primary care groups and (b) primary care trusts; and what estimate he has made of the overall impact of the establishment of groups and trusts on the numbers employed in the administration of the Health Service. [131306]

Mr. Denham

Primary care groups and trusts are already making real differences to the way services are being provided to benefit patients across the country.

as identified in the outline business case and those to be provided under the PFI solution we have also provided the current number of staffed in-patient beds.

They have begun to integrate the delivery of primary and community services and have started to build real partnerships with social services.

That is why they are a key part of our programme for improving care, through empowering clinicians to deliver accessible, convenient local services for patients.

In September 1999 the numbers employed in administration and estates in the health service was 204,620 (an increase of 3 per cent.). It is estimated that the real terms savings in year on total National Health Service management costs for the financial year 1998–99 were in excess of £65 million.