Primary care trusts (PCTs) are at the heart of the local NHS. They hold the purse strings for the majority of NHS resources for their local population. Their role as commissioners is to be advocates for patients and custodians for tax payers.

PCTs actively engage with their local communities ensuring that patients receive the right care in the right place at the right time, delivered by the most appropriate healthcare professional.

PCTs have a crucial role in transforming the way that care is delivered - making non-urgent and non-critical services more accessible in local community settings and making sure that hospitals concentrate on treating the very ill.

PCTs also directly provide health services where they feel this offers high quality and responsive care which is best-value.

Towards World Class Commissioning

PCTs are focusing their efforts on achieving world class commissioning. This involves a fundamental shift from the year-on-year procurement and purchasing of services to proactive commissioning that will:

• manage the market
• deliver clinical engagement through practice-based commissioning
• ensure a comprehensive and equitable range of high quality, responsive and health services across all service sectors within available resources.

The health of local populations is a core responsibility of PCTs, as is the emphasis on engaging with the local population to tackle health inequalities and improve health and well-being.

Health reforms are placing an emphasis on restoring a balance between commissioning and provision within the healthcare system, with PCTs playing a critical role as local system manager.

PCT Network

The NHS Confederation has established a PCT Network to provide a distinct voice to represent the views of PCTs. The Network provides a clearly branded vehicle to raise the profile of issues facing PCTs and improve the influence of PCT members.

As well as aiming to support the needs of the specific parts of our membership wherever possible, as a membership organisation the NHS Confederation represents all parts of the NHS. The PCT Network feeds into the voice for the whole NHS, and supports solutions that benefit the whole system for patients and the public.