Audit Commission
A freestanding government body which audits local government authorities and health authorities. They were formed to promote the best use of public money.

Care Pathway
This term describes all the processes of diagnosis, treatment and care that a patient goes through, on a step-by-step basis from first contact.

Chronic Disease Management
Caring for a person with an ongoing illness such as diabetes or asthma.

Clinical Governance
An initiative to ensure and improve clinical standards at local level throughout the NHS. It covers areas such as education and training, managing risk and maintaining clinical standards.

Clinician
A health professional who is directly involved with the care and treatment of patients.

Commissioning
This is the process that PCTs go through to agree health services which a provider (such as an NHS Trust) will provide for a specified sum of money. Commissioning also involves monitoring these contracts to ensure best value for money.

Community Care
A way of providing services to people to help them stay in their own homes as long as they are able, or in other settings in the community such as residential homes.

Community Health Care
A range of treatments provided in the community such as health visiting and district nursing.

Community Health Council (CHC)
CHCs are statutory bodies independent from Health Authorities and NHS Trusts. They represent the health interests of local people and provide advice on health services.

Corporate Governance
Systems and processes for ensuring proper accountability, probity and openness in the conduct of an organisation’s business. Corporate Governance is a core responsibility of all NHS organisations including PCTs.

General Practitioner (GP)
Also commonly referred to as family doctors.

Health Authority
The statutory body that used to plan and fund services on behalf of residents living in their specific, geographical area (eg Gloucestershire Health Authority) until April 2002. Health Authorities have now been replaced by more local PCTs.

Health Improvement Programme (HImP)
Health Improvement Programmes (HImPs) were introduced in the Government’s white paper The New NHS, in December 1997. In Gloucestershire, PCTs work with LPTs to develop local HImPs covering each local council area. These individual plans then feed into the main countywide document. HImPs cover issues such as teenage pregnancies, smoking cessation and preventing falls in the elderly. They address national priorities set out by the department of health and also locally identified priorities for improving health.

Intermediate Care
This refers to the type of care that patients can be given after coming out of an acute hospital. It is often given to patients who are unable to return home immediately and require some form of rehabilitation.

Joint Investment Plan (JIP)
Plans jointly agreed between health and social services for specific areas of care. For example, Gloucestershire has a JIP for Older People.

Local Authorities
This term refers to county councils, borough, district, town and parish councils.

Local Medical Committee (LMC)
A group of locally elected GPS who represent the views of their constituent GPs in discussions with other organisations or agencies.

Locality Planning Team (LPT)
These are multi-agency forums set up by councils (Eg Tewks LPT, Gloucester LPT) to look at improving all aspects of community life. LPTS are also tasked with developing Community Plans. Representatives from housing, health, education, councils, and local authorities attend.

National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE)
A national body set up by the department of health to oversee standards of clinical practice throughout the country and to pass judgement on the cost-effectiveness and value for money of new drugs.

National Service Framework (NSFs)
These frameworks are evidence-based strategies setting out national standards of care that patients can expect to receive from the NHS in major care areas or disease groups. Current NSFs include Mental Health, Older People and Coronary Heart Disease.

NHS Direct
A 24-hour nurse led telephone help line. Contact NHS Direct on 0845 46 47.

NHS Trusts
Public bodies providing either acute hospital care, community care or a combination.

Occupational Therapy
Mental or physical activity to assist recovery from disease or injury.

Palliative Care
Care which gives relief from symptoms but does not cure diseases. It is often given to people who are terminally ill.

Performance Assessment Framework
This national framework, produced by the department of health, provides a structure and benchmarks for NHS organisations to use to assess its performance. It covers fair access to services, effective delivery of healthcare, efficiency and the patient and carer experience.

Primary Care Investment Plan (PCIP)
A rolling 3 year document produced by PCTs outlining the priorities for developing and investing in primary care. It covers areas such as Information Management and Technology, the development of surgery premises and staffing development.

Primary Health Care Team
Health workers who are usually based at a GP surgery or health centre who provide health services in the community. They include GPs, district nurses, practice nurses and health visitors.

Professions Allied to Medicine (PAMS)
These include dieticians, speech and language therapists, podiatrists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and others.

Ring Fenced Monies
Usually refers to funds or other resources that can only be used for a defined purpose.

Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP)
The Royal College of General Practitioners is the academic organisation in the UK for general practitioners. Its aim is to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice.

Secondary Care
Also known as acute care, this refers to specialist medical care or surgery provided in a hospital setting either as an in-patient or outpatient service. Patients seen in hospitals are generally under the care of a consultant, not a GP.

Service Level Agreement
These are contracts agreed between PCTs and service providers such as NHS Trusts. They are agreed on an annual basis.

Stakeholder
An individual or organisation with an interest in health and health initiatives. Stakeholders can be organisations such as local authorities or individuals such as residents.

TARGET
Common term for the protected learning time (training) sessions, undertaken on one afternoon per month by all practices in the PCT area. The term TARGET refers to the original scheme set up by GPs in Doncaster in 1999.

Triage
This is a system of sorting patients according to their illness or injuries so that patients can be steered to the most appropriate health worker.