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Quick Reference Guide to LMC Terms and Abbreviations
This is a working document of commonly used terms and abbreviations that may help you
when attending Local Medical Committee meetings or when reading information from
Londonwide LMCs. The NHS is a rapidly changing environment and these definitions will be
updated regularly to include new terms or to omit those no longer relevant.
If you have a query about a term or abbreviation you have heard used and would like further
clarification please contact your sector team, who will be happy to answer any questions.
Please let us know if there is a term you think it would be helpful to include by contacting us
You may also find the following two websites helpful:
General
Acronym Finder
http://www.acronymfinder.com
Medical
Acronym Buster
http://www.nhsconfed.org/acronym-buster
AHSC Academic Health Science Centre An Academic Health Science Centre (AHSC) is a partnership between healthcare providers and universities with the aim of improving clinical and research outcomes. There are currently 3 AHSCs set up in London:
Imperial College Healthcare
King’s Health Partners
UCL Partners AHSN Academic Health Science Network Academic Health Science Networks (AHSN) have been established to deliver a step-change
in the way the NHS identifies and adopts new technologies and are predicated on
partnership working and collaboration between the NHS, academia, the private sector and
other external partners within a single AHSN context and across AHSNs. AHSNs have an
agenda to drive adoption and spread of innovation across all areas of healthcare provision
and population health by bringing together the resources and assets in their geographical
area to create a a synergy between researchers in universities, industry and entrepreneurs,
and the local NHS to identify, exploit and commercialise innovations that will have national
and international significance. There are 15 AHSNs and those covering the Greater London
area are:
Imperial College Partners
South London
UCL Partners
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Kent, Surrey and Sussex Acute Trust A legal entity/organisation formed to provide health services in a secondary care setting, usually a hospital. Acute trusts can provide services in the community, for example through health centres, clinics or in people’s homes. Some acute trusts are regional or national centres for more specialised care. Others are attached to universities and help to train health professionals. APMS Alternative Provider Medical Services APMS contracts enable NHS England to contract/commission with a wide range of organisations to provide primary medical services e.g. private providers. Annual Conference of LMCs The Annual Conference of LMCs is a yearly event held by the GPC (see GPC) of the BMA (see BMA), at which GPs from across the UK come together to debate the key issues facing general practice and to interact with the GPC. Individual GPs can influence policy through their local medical committee which submits motions to the annual conference of LMC representatives. This conference, comprising more than 300 GPs is an opportunity for representatives to create policy for future GPC and BMA action for the following year. Each LMC is able to nominate a set number of representatives to attend the conference. ACR Annual Contract Review The ACR is a meeting between the practice and NHSE (as contract managers) to identify and address any problems at an early stage. The ACR allows the practice to receive feedback and it should take note of any recommendations arising from these meetings. AQP Any Qualified Provider Any Qualified Provider is a means of commissioning certain NHS services in England. Clinical commissioning groups (see CCGs) will determine the services to be commissioned as AQP; the intention is to increase patient choice. All providers must meet the qualification criteria set for a particular service and once qualified their service will appear on choose and book (see Choose and Book) for patients to select. ARM (see BMA) Annual Representative Meeting The BMA annual representative meeting, ARM brings together doctors from all parts of the profession to debate motions on various aspects of their working. Better Care Fund The £3.8bn Better Care Fund (formerly the Integration Transformation Fund) was announced by the Government in the June 2013 spending round, to ensure a transformation in integrated health and social care. The Better Care Fund (BCF) is one of the most ambitious ever programmes across the NHS and Local Government. It creates a local single pooled budget to incentivise the NHS and local government to work more closely together around people, placing their well-being as the focus of health and care services. The BCF is a critical part of the NHS 2 year operational plans and the 5 year strategic plans as well as local government planning.
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BMA British Medical Association As an independent trade union, the BMA is the voice for doctors and medical students in the UK, with over 140, 000 members worldwide. You have to apply to become a BMA member in order to have access to its services. BSC (historic) Balanced Score Card A balanced scorecard was a tool for PCTs (see PCTs) to measure practice performance and benchmark it against local and national averages. This has been replaced by the Outcome Standards in London (see Outcome Standards). BSU Business Support Unit See definition under CSU CQC Care Quality Commission The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of all health and adult social care in England, whether provided by the NHS, local authorities, private companies or voluntary organisations. Its role is to check whether hospitals, care homes, GPs, out of hours services, and dentists are meeting national standards. It does this by inspecting services and publishing findings helping people to make choices about the care they receive. CQRS Calculating Quality Reporting Services The Calculating Quality Reporting Service (CQRS), together with the General Practice Extraction Service (GPES) has replaced the Quality Management and Analysis System (QMAS), the system previously used to calculate payments to GPs under the Quality & Outcomes Framework (QOF). CQRS is being used to calculate payments for GP practices across England for the 2013/14 financial year. The service is capable of calculating achievement and payments on quality services, including the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF), Enhanced Services (ESs) and some other clinical services (e.g. new immunisations). CQRS obtains data for Quality Services from general practice clinical systems using the General Practice Extraction Service (GPES), which is being developed by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC). See also GPES and QMAS. CMO Chief Medical Officer The Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Professor Dame Sally Davies is the UK Government’s principal medical adviser and the professional head of all medical staff in England. CAB Choose and Book Choose and Book is a national service that combines electronic booking and a choice of place, date and time for making referrals for hospital or clinical appointments. CCG Clinical Commissioning Group Clinical Commissioning Groups were set up by the Health and Social Care Act 2012 to
commission the majority of NHS services in England. They have replaced primary care
trusts (see PCTs) although some of the PCT’s staff and responsibilities moved to the local
authority public health teams when PCTs ceased to exist in April 2013.
Co-Commissioning Co-commissioning is intended to support the move towards one commissioner, who could
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vire between budgets according to local need, also giving communities and clinicians more
‘clout’ in determining how local services are developed, as part of a move to support
improved commissioning of population-based integrated care.
This will require the collaboration of NHS England Area Teams with CCGs and Local
Authorities. This may simply involve strategic collaboration and working agreements (such
as the Better Care Fund arrangements). It could also mean pooling of budgets and the
creation of a commissioning board with delegated authority from the constituent bodies.
Co-commissioning is
optional at present
excludes community pharmacy, dentistry and optometry (NHS E cannot delegate
responsibility for commissioning these)
not one-size-fits all; arrangements could cover a spectrum of arrangements/forms, for
instance:
greater CCG involvement in influencing commissioning decisions made by NHS
England area teams;
joint commissioning arrangements, whereby CCGs and area teams make
decisions together, potentially supported by pooled funding arrangements;
delegated commissioning arrangements, whereby CCGs carry out defined
functions on behalf of NHS England and area teams hold CCGs to account for
how effectively they carry out these functions.
CQUIN/s Commissioning for Quality and Innovation/s
The CQUIN payment framework enables commissioners to reward excellence by linking a
proportion of English healthcare providers’ incomes to the achievement of local quality
improvement goals.
CEPNs Community Education Provider Networks
CEPNs are all run slightly differently across London, but they are designed to improve the quality of education for health professionals, work across organisational boundaries, provide innovative models of education and training in the community and expand capacity for training in the community setting. They are promoted by LETBs. . Community Based Services/Enhanced services Community Based Services (previously known as Enhanced Services (ES)) are defined as primary medical services other than essential services, additional services or out-of-hours services. These can be commissioned by the CCG and Local authorities via public health. Community Services Community Services provide health care out of hospital which includes district nursing, physiotherapy, specialist nursing and chiropody operating in conjunction with other healthcare providers. Community services are either organisations in their own right or are often hosted by other NHS Trusts. CoI Conflict of interest CSP Commissioning Strategy Plan A commissioning strategy plan is developed by CCGs to outline their strategic visions, health
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improvement priorities and to identify programmes for reform over a number of identified years. CSU Commissioning Support Unit Commissioning Support Units provide support to CCGs, NHE England, acute trusts and government. Commissioning support is NHS money spent on non-clinical services and while CSUs do not provide direct patient care or treatment, the 18 CSUs across England play an essential role in helping commissioners to improve patient care and achieve substantial savings, freeing up more money for reinvestment in frontline clinical services. In some areas these are referred to as Business Support Unit (BSU). DES Directed Enhanced Service A DES is an enhanced service which is commissioned by NHSE and is offered to all
practices to participate. DESs are negotiated by NHSE and the GPC.
DH/DoH Department of Health The Department of Health (DH) work includes setting national standards, shaping the direction of health and social care services and promoting healthier living. DDRB Doctors’ and Dentists’ Review Body The DDRB manages the negotiation infrastructure that supports discussions between NHS employers and unions on pay and terms and conditions. DSA Data sharing agreement Sometimes also referred to as data sharing/information sharing protocols. These set out a common set of rules to be adopted by various organisations involved in information sharing operations. ES Enhanced Services See definition under community based services. See also DES and LES/community based services. ETTF Estates, Technology and Transformation
Fund (Known formerly as NHS England’s Primary Care Transformation Fund) A national time-limited £1bn investment programme to help general practice make improvements including in premises and technology. Part of the additional NHS funding announced in the NHS Five Year Forward View. EOI Expression of interest An expression of interest usually relates to an expression indicating an intent to bid but increasingly in NHS terms EOIs are sough in relation to bids for resources. 5YFV Five Year Forward View An NHSE document published in October 2014 which sets out a new shared vision for the future of the NHS, based around new models of care. Footprint In December 2015, NHS shared planning guidance set out a new approach to help ensure that health and care services are planned by place rather than solely around individual institutions, over a period of five years, rather than just a single year. A ‘footprint’ is a geographic area in which NHS providers, Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), Local Authorities, and other health and care services work together to develop Sustainability and Transformation Plans (or STPs) for their populations (see below). There are 44 footprints in England. London has 5 footprints: north west, north central, north east, south east and
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south west . The boundaries may change over time, depending on local circumstances. FT Foundation Trusts NHS foundation trusts differ from other existing NHS trusts. They are independent legal entities and have unique governance arrangements. They are accountable to local people, who can become members and governors. Each NHS foundation trust has a duty to consult and involve a board of governors (including patients, staff, members of the public, and partner organisations) in the strategic planning of the organisation. They are set free from central government control and are self-standing, self-governing organisations and are free to determine their own future. They have financial freedoms and can raise capital from both the public and private sectors within borrowing limits determined by projected cash flows and therefore based on affordability. They can retain financial surpluses to invest in the delivery of new NHS services. Foundation trusts are accountable to Parliament and are regulated by Monitor, and like all health and care providers, the CQC. FP69s An FP69 is the process by which patients can be deducted automatically from the GP practice system. FP69 flags are set against patients’ records who either fail to respond to letters sent to them or have had mail returned as non-delivered. Practices have six months to clarify whether patients still reside at the registered address before and FP69 removal takes place. FoIA Freedom of Information Act The FoIA is an Act designed to make provision for the disclosure of information, when suitable, held by public authorities or by persons providing services for them. GMC General Medical Council The GMC registers doctors to practise medicine in the UK. GMS General Medical Services Contract The GMS contract is a contract for providing funding to individual GP practices. It has two elements of funding – a basic payment for every practice, and further payments for specified quality measures and outcomes. It is sometimes referred to as nGMS (new General Medical Services) that is the nationally negotiated contract for GPs agreed in 2003 entitled ‘Investing in General Practice’. GPFV General Practice Forward View The GPFV, published by NHSE in April 2016, sets out a plan, backed by a multi-billion investment, to stabilise and transform general practice. GPOS General Practice Outcome Standards
(London) The London Outcomes Standards are a set of standards that represent the minimum patients should expect to receive from their general practice, in areas such as diagnosis, screening and ease of making appointments. The standards were carefully selected and developed with advice from Londonwide LMCs and in collaboration with a wide range of groups, including doctors, nurses, general practice staff, NHS managers and the public. GPRP General Practice Resilience Programme
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This is a programme which will deliver the commitment set out in the GPFV to invest £40m over four years (2016/17 – 2020/21) GPC General Practitioners Committee The GPC is a committee of the BMA with authority to deal with all matters affecting NHS general practitioners. It is the only body which represents all GPs in Great Britain, whether or not they are members of the BMA. The committee is recognised as the sole negotiating body for general practice by the Department of Health and is represented in negotiations with ministers and civil servants by a team of 8 GPs elected by the committee. The committee has 86 members, 43 of how are directly elected representatives of local medical committees. It meets monthly and much of its work is undertaken by subcommittees and task groups. GPES General Practice Extraction Service The General Practice Extraction Service (GPES) is a centrally managed service that extracts information from general practice IT clinical systems for a wide range of purposes. It also forms part of the process for providing payments to GPs and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). GPES is the only national service for extracting data from patient records held in general practice systems across England. It is owned and managed for the NHS by the Health and Social Care Information Centre. See also CQRS and QMAS. GPwSI or GPSI GP with a special interest A GP with a Special Interest (GPwSI) supplements their role as a generalist by providing an additional service while still working in the community. They have additional specialist skills and are accredited in their role by their employer. GPwSIs can improve patient care in a number of important ways:
reduce costs and unnecessary secondary care referrals, helping divert referrals to a service provided by the GPwSI or extended scope practitioners
improve skills and facilitate more effective management of patients in primary care, using the GPwSI’s insight into general practice and their specialty to disseminate education and training
help improve clinical services for patients by reducing delays, improving access and keeping care closer to home
enhance patient care by managing a condition at a specialist level, but also take a holistic approach to co-existing multimorbidities
GPSoC GP Systems of Choice GP Systems of Choice is a scheme through which the NHS funds the provision of GP clinical IT systems in England. GP Systems of Choice incudes all the leading GP clinical IT systems in use in England. GPSoE campaign GP State of Emergency A campaign run by Londonwide LMCs to provide resources for practices to help them manage their workload and reduce the burden on practices. Health and Social Care Act 2012 The Health and Social Care Act 2012 is an Act of Parliament that received royal assent in March 2012. It is the most extensive reorganisation of the structure of the National Health Service in England to date. It abolished NHS Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) and Strategic Health Authorities from om April 2013 at which point health care funds were transferred from the abolished PCTs to Clinical Commissioning Groups.
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Healthwatch Healthwatch is the national consumer champion in health and care. It has significant statutory powers to ensure the voice of the consumer is strengthened and heard by those who commission, deliver and regulate health and care services. It exists in two distinct forms – local Healthwatch, at local level and Health watch England at national level. Local Healthwatch has a seat on the Health and Wellbeing Boards and will support Clinical Commissioning Groups to make sure services are designed to meet citizens’ needs. H&WB Boards Health and Wellbeing Boards Health and Wellbeing Boards were established in 2012 as a forum where key leaders from the health and care system work together to improve the health and wellbeing of their local population and reduce health inequalities. They have strategic influence over commissioning decisions across health, public and social care. Each local authority has its own Health and Wellbeing Board (see JHWS and JSNA). HEE Health Education England Health Education England (HEE) provides national leadership and oversight on planning and development of the healthcare workforce. It acts as the forum for the interests of healthcare providers, staff professionals and patients. In London you may hear this referred to as HENWL (Health Education North West London) HE NCL (Health Education North Central and East London) or HESL (Heath Education South London). Horizontal Integration The integration of services provided by different organisations or teams at the same level in the health system (e.g. primary, secondary and tertiary care). See also Vertical Integration. IAPT Improving Access to Psychological
Therapies The Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme aims to improve access to evidence based talking therapies in the NHS through an expansion of the psychological therapy workforce and services. IFR Individual Funding Requests An individual funding request is a request for NHS funding for treatment that is not normally available and one which is only paid for under certain circumstances, for example:
It is a very new treatment or drug and the CCG has no commissioning policy There are exceptional reasons why the treatment or drug should be available to an
individual patient.
Integrated care Integrated care is care that integrates the contributions of different specialties or parts of a health system. It is increasingly seen as desirable as more people suffer from multi-morbidity in the population or have complex needs. It is a response to patients’ increasingly complex needs in the context of the increasing specialisation of health care delivery. It is co-ordinated around the needs of individual patients (or increasingly patient subpopulations). It is hoped that it will cut or control costs and integrate prevention with intervention, reducing the need for specialist care and hospital stays. Integrated Care Record This means of sharing information amongst other professionals in order to optimise patient treatment is becoming increasingly common and supports, as the name suggests, integrated care. The care information is shared amongst health care professionals which can include GPs, acute consultants, mental health consultants, community health professionals, social
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care worker. This also supports discussion, where appropriate, of patient care plans at multi-disciplinary team case conferences. It needs to be remembered that in some instances the care information in ‘anonymised’ form may be shared with other organisations to help improve patient services across the system. Key to this operational system is informed patient consent and the ability of the patient ‘opt-out’ at any time. ISA Information Sharing Agreement See definition under Data Sharing Agreements JHWS Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy Once the JSNA (see JSNA is developed the Health and Wellbeing Board will develop a joint
Health and Wellbeing Strategy for the area. The strategy is intended to inform
commissioning decisions across local services such that they are focused on the needs of
the service users and community.
JSNA Joint Strategic Needs Assessment A Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) looks at the current and future health and care needs of local populations to inform and guide the planning and commissioning (buying) of health, well-being and social care services within a local authority area. JSNAs are developed by the LA and the CCG together with Healthwatch. KPIs Key Performance Indicators A key performance indicator (KPI) is a measure of performance. Such measures are commonly used to help define and evaluate how successful an organisation is. KPIs have been included in some PMS contracts as a means to measure practices’ performance against those indicators. LAT/AT Local Area Team The London Region of NHSE (see NHSE definition) is made up of 3 Area Teams; North Central North East, North West and South. LCS Locally Commissioned Service See Community Based Services for definition LES Local Enhanced Service
Local Estates Strategy See Community Based Services for Local Enhance Service definition Can also be Local Estates Strategy (formerly CCG Estates Strategy) LETBs Local Education and Training Boards Local Education and Training Boards are accountable for allocating training and funding received from HEE. They co-ordinate workforce data and workforce plans for the local health economy in response to CCGs’ strategic commissioning plans. They also promote CEPNs. LIFT NHS Local Improvement Finance Trust NHS LIFT aims to develop a market for investment in primary care and community-based facilities and services. A local LIFT will build and refurbish primary care premises which it will own and it will rent accommodation to GPs on a lease basis (as well as other parties such as chemists, opticians, dentists etc.). LMC Local Medical Committee An LMC is the statutory body recognised by successive NHS Acts as the professional
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organisation representing GPs and their practice teams in negotiations with CCGs. NHS E and local authorities. Each LMC is elected and chaired by practising GPs and provides leadership, advice and support for GPs and their practice teams in the LMC area. LLMCs/LwLMCs Londonwide LMCs Londonwide LMCs is the brand name of Londonwide Local Medical Committees Ltd and is the professional voice for all NHS GPs and practice teams across the capital. LLMCs provides support to 27 boroughs across the capital, providing representation, guidance and support to GPs and their practice teams in these LMC areas. LEL Londonwide Enterprise Limited Londonwide Enterprise Ltd (LEL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Londonwide LMCs created with the business, learning and performance needs of GPs and practices in mind. We are organised and run similar to a social enterprise – providing a tangible benefit to the GP community is more important than making a commercial profit. Londonwide Buying Group The Londonwide Buying Group, the newest member of the LMC Buying Group Federation run successfully by Nottinghamshire LMC, was launched in April 2010. The Londonwide Buying Group offers all member practices access to a number of pre-approved suppliers offering discounts on a wide range of goods and services form medical equipment to vaccines and much more. Londonwide LEAD Londonwide Learning, Education and
Development Londonwide LEAD is part of LEL that focuses on providing training for GPs, practice managers and practice nurses across the capital. LEAD events are published on the Londonwide LMCs website. LDC Local Dental Committee The LDC is the statutory body which represents dentists. LOC Local Optical Committee The LOC is the statutory body which represents opticians. LPC Local Pharmaceutical Committee The LPC is the statutory body which represents pharmacists. LRC Local Representative Committee The LRCs are representative bodies composed of elected members representing the four main primary care professions (see LDC, LOC, LPC and LMC) MDOs Medical Defence Organisations MDOs are mutual non-profit making organisations owned by their members. All MDOs provide members with 24 hour access to advice and assistance on medico-legal issues arising from clinical practice which fall outside the scope of indemnity provided by NHS bodies. There are three MDOs: Medical Defence Union (MDU), Medical Protection Society (MPS) and Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland (MDDUS). MOU Memorandum of Understanding A statement of intention to do something or act by certain mutually understood rules with
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another party. It is not a legally binding commitment. Monitor Monitor is the independent regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health. Within England its responsibilities are making sure:
independent NHS foundation trusts are well-led so that they can provide quality care on a sustainable basis
essential services are maintained if a provider gets into serious difficulties
the NHS payment system promotes quality and efficiency
procurement, choice and competition operate in the best interests of patients. MPIG Minimum Practice Income Guarantee The Minimum Practice Income Guarantee (MPIG) was a top up payment to some General Medical Services (GMS) practices which was introduced as part of the 2004 contract to provide financial protection due to the redistributive effects of the 2004 contract. As part of the GP contract imposition in 2013, the Department of Health decided to phase out correction factor payments over a seven-year period (2014-2021). The total sum of correction factor payments will be redistributed across all GMS practices. Because of the way that MPIG funding is currently distributed, approximately half of practices will gain and half will lose funding over the seven-year transition period.
The phasing out of the MPIG started at the beginning of the 2014-15 financial year, with practice correction factor payments reduced by one-seventh. This will happen every year until all GMS practices are receiving the same weighted funding per patient by the beginning of the 2020-21 financial year. NAPC National Association of Primary Care The NAPC is a non-politically affiliated membership organisation for those working in or with primary care, including general practitioners, nurses, practice staff pharmacist, opticians and dentists. NHS Confed NHS Confederation The NHS Confederation is the membership body for all organisations that commission and provide NHS services. It works closely with the Government, Parliament and national stakeholders and provides an independent and robust critique of policy and acts as an important conduit between policy makers and NHS leaders – helping to test proposals and assess their impact on front line services. NHS Employers Organisation The NHS Employers Organisation is part of the NHS Confederation and is the voice of employers in the NHS, supporting them to put patients first. NHSE NHS England NHS England is the operating name of the NHS Commissioning Board. It was set up as a special health authority of the NHS in October 2011 as the forerunner to becoming an non departmental public body of the DoH on 1 April 2013. It was renamed NHS England on 26 March 2013 but its legal name remains the NHS Commissioning Board. NHS England oversees the budget, planning, delivery and day-to-day operation of the commissioning side of the NHS in England as set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2012 and holds the contracts for GPs and NHS dentists.
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It is made up of four regional teams; North of England, Midlands and East of England, London and South England. NHSEL NHS England London NHS England London has oversight and leadership for the NHS in London and commissions more than £15bn of services for the 8.17 million people living in the capital. These include general practitioners (GP) and over 140 specialised services. It is divided into three Area teams, North West, South and North Central North East. OOH Out of Hours and Out of Hospital Out of Hours is GP care provided after 6.30 pm until 8.00 am on any week day, as well as weekends and bank holidays. OOH is also used as an abbreviation for out of hospital. OSC Overview and Scrutiny Committee Overview and Scrutiny Committees are committees of Local Authorities which inquire into all ‘matters of local Scrutiny Committees’ concern including the NHS. NHS organisations must consult with OSCs before making any material changes to services and must provide the OSCs with any information requested. PACS Primary and Acute Care Systems A vertically-integrated/hospital-led organisation that delivers list-based GP and hospital
services, together with community and mental health services eg where a trust may take
over running a list in an under doctored area.
PALS Patient Advice and Liaison Service The Patient Advice and Liaison Service, known as PALS, was introduced to ensure that the NHS listens to patients, their relatives, carers and friends, and answers their questions and resolves their concerns as quickly as possible. PALS also helps the NHS to improve services by listening to what matters to patients and their loved ones and making changes, when appropriate. PbR Payment by results PbR is the payment system in England under which commissioners pay healthcare providers for each patient seen or treated. It covers the majority of acute healthcare in hospitals, with national tariffs for admitted patient care, out-patient attendance, A&E and some outpatient procedures. PCSE Primary Care Support England Provides support services to GP Practices, Pharmacists, Dentists and Opticians. The service includes records movement, NHS supplies management, screening, administration support, patient registrations, payments and performer list applications. PCT (NHS) Primary Care Trust Primary Care Trusts (PCT) were set up in April 2002 as the NHS bodies responsible for health services in their local areas. They received budgets directly from the DoH and took control of local health care. PCTs were abolished at the end of March 2013 when CCGs were established. PHE Public Health England
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Public Health England is an executive agency of the Department of Health that began operating on 1 April 2013 as a result of the reorganisation of the NHS in England outlined in the Health and Social Care Act 2012. It took on the role of the Health Protection Agency, the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse and a number of other health bodies. Its remit is to protect and improve the nation’s health and to address inequalities. Prior to April 2013, Directorates of Public Health sat within PCTs but they now sit within Local Authorities. Local Authorities will be responsible for commissioning services to meet their new public health authorities and examples of such services which were previously commissioned from practices by PCTs include Implanon (contraceptive implants), sexual health services (e.g. chlamydia screening, emergency hormone contraception), NHS health checks, fitting and removal of IUCDs, alcohol misuse or substance misuse services and smoking cessation services. PID Patient Identifiable Data This is a term used in relation to any information that can identify one person. This could be one piece of data for example a person’s name, or a collection of information, for example the name, address or date of birth. PMS Personal Medical Services PMS is a locally agreed alternative to the General Medical Services (GMS) contract for providers of general practice. The defining feature of PMS contracts is their local nature. Unlike GMS contracts, they are negotiated between the practice and NHSE, and are not subject to direct national negotiations between the DoH and the GPC. Nevertheless, the national GMS contract has a strong impact on PMS policy and the contents of PMS contracts. QIPP Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention QIPP is a large scale transformational programme for the NHS, involving all NHS staff, clinicians, patients and the voluntary sector. It aims to improve the quality of care the NHS delivers while making efficiency savings of up to £20 billion by 2015 so there are more funds available for treating patients and to allow the NHS to respond to changing demands and new technologies. QMAS (historical) Quality Management and Analysis System QMAS was a national IT system which provides objective evidence and feedback on the quality of care delivered. It has now been replaced by the Calculating Quality Reporting Services (CQRS) and the General Practice Extraction Service (GPES) (see separate definitions). QoF Quality and Outcomes Framework QOF is a system of paying practices for set levels of quality that are pre-specified and measured using detailed, evidence-based indicators. It uses a points system to translate achievement into payments after adjustments for average list size. RCGP Royal College of General Practitioners The RCGP is a membership body of family doctors committed to delivering excellence in general practice and patient care, in the UK and overseas. SCR Summary Care Record The SCR is intended to support patient care in urgent and emergency care settings. The SCR will store a defined set of key patient data for every patient in England except those who elect not to have one. This data will make a summary record created from information held on GP clinical systems. This summary record will help in ensuring continuity of care
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across a variety of care settings. Segmentation Segmentation is the identification of subpopulations with similar health needs around whom the delivery of health care is organised, involving preventative care, treatments after care and end of life care. In the context of primary care this could mean the reorganisation of sub-populations of patients with similar needs eg. healthy adults, children and mothers and the elderly. Sessional GP
Sessional GP A blanket term used to cover those GPs who work and provide medical services either as a salaried or locum GP, rather than as a contractor GP. The term is also used interchangeably by some to describe the working pattern of freelance/locum GPs only. SPMS Specialist Personal Medical Services SPMS is a flexibility within Personal Medical Services (PMS) that offers a key contracting difference from other primary care commissioning, as the patients do not have to be registered with the provider to receive specialist care. SFE Statement of Financial Entitlement The SFE governs payments that are made to a contractor under a GMS contract. The SFE is divided into parts, sections and paragraphs and sub-paragraphs each covering a different area of financial entitlement. The directions in the SFE are covered by legislation. SPG Strategic Planning Group An advisory group accountable to CCG governing bodies, Trust Boards and local authority cabinets, working on the delivery of the new care models in the Five Year Forward View. Membership comprises: health (NHS E, CCG, acute, GP Federation, mental health, community trust, patient representatives, specialist commissioning and Health Education Leads) and local government leads (local authority CEOs/Directors of adult social services STP Sustainability and Transformation Plan A strategic local health and care system five year plan (Oct 2016 – March 2021) showing how local services will evolve and become sustainable over the next five years ultimately delivering the Five Year Forward View vision of better health, better patient care and improved NHS efficiency. UCC Urgent Care Centre An Urgent Care Centre is defined to treat patients who have an injury or condition which is severe but not immediately critical or life threatening including accidental injuries and minor medical emergencies. It is a ‘walk-in’ service, available to all, that is open for 7 days a week and outside office hours. It has often been developed as a service to decrease attendances at Acute Trusts. Unscheduled Care Unscheduled care is care that is not planned or pre-booked with GPs or hospitals e.g. urgent GP appointments, minor injuries or visits to A&E. Vertical Integration The integration of organisations or teams located in different tiers of the health system. This could be by collaborating on delivering parts of a whole patient pathway such as Diabetes Year of Care or for example a hospital trust merging or working in partnership with primary care providers, including GP practices as in some Accountable Care or Health management
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organisations in other countries where GPs are salaried by a hospital organisation and work on the same site. In the NHS examples include Acute Foundation Trusts merging with community provider trusts. WIC/WiC Walk-in-Centre NHS walk-in centres (WiCs) are usually managed by CCGs and offer services to deal with minor illnesses and injuries and are available to all. Patients do not need to make an appointment and most centres are open 7 days a week and outside office hours. They are not designed for treating long-term conditions or immediately life-threatening problems.
