ABI

 Area-Based Initiative

Activity

The level of work carried out in a given period - e.g. the number of patients seen

Acute Coronary Events

Heart attacks   

Acute Hospital

Hospitals that provide urgent or planned treatments or operations, plus outpatient appointments

Acute Service

A service that is provided for people who need urgent treatment or care usually provided in a hospital  

Aetiology

The cause of a disease

Age Standardised Mortality Rates

Death rates that are adjusted to take account of the age profile of the population

Agenda 21/Local Agenda 21

Agenda 21 is the key document agreed by the participating nations at the United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. It seeks to identify a global programme of action, part of which calls on all local authorities to develop a strategy for sustainable development in their area, Local Agenda 21.

AIDS/HIV

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome/Human Immuno-deficiency Virus

Allocation

The amount of money received from Government to buy health care locally

Ambulatory Care Centre

A centre where the patient could be admitted and discharged within a working day, including out-patients, x-ray, day surgery and medical diagnostic services.  A centre and service which are designed around the needs of the patient.

APHR

Annual Public Health Report, produced by the Health Authority

Area Child Protection Committee (ACPC)

Each county or unitary authority has, by law, to have an Area Child Protection Committee with membership drawn from all statutory agencies working with children, but with an independent chair. The ACPC must ensure that all children in their area are protected from significant harm; this includes taking responsibility for establishing good local policies and practices and ensuring that these are adhered to.

Arrest Referral Scheme

Where someone whose crimes are caused by their drug or alcohol use is referred for treatment (they may still be charged and tried for the offence they committed). An example would be someone stealing from cars to fund their addiction to heroin.

Assertive outreach

Ensuring those most in need of specialist mental health care remain in touch with services

Assertive outreach service

Refers to services that are targeted on people with severe and persistent mental illness who may be difficult to engage in treatment. Staff working in this type of service typically have small caseloads (10 to 15 clients) and provide a mixture of social care, practical help and psychiatric treatment. The service is usually available seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

Audit

To carry out a detailed examination of health care performance with the aim of taking action to improve it.

B 

BA

Benefits Agency

Bed Blockers

Patients who occupy hospital beds for a long time and reduce access of other patients

Benefits Agency

The organisation which provides social security payments to individuals in need. This may include the unemployed or individuals who have a disability

Best Value

From April 2000, local authorities and some other public bodies have had a duty of “Best Value”, a regime of audit and inspection, targets and involvement of users, residents and employees in determining the best way to deliver services

Better Services for Vulnerable People

This is a Department of Health initiative that requires Health Authorities and Social Services Departments to work together to agree local joint investment plans (JIPs) for continuing and community care services.

BMA

British Medical Association. The professional association of doctors which represents their interests at national/government level

BMJ

British Medical Journal. An international medical journal.

BNF

British National Formulary of drugs and medicines

Bridging the Gap

Discussion paper by the Social Exclusion Unit

BSVP

Better Services for Vulnerable People

Calman Report (manpower)

The report of the Chief Medical Officer that changed the structure of post-graduate medical training

Calman Trainees (see also specialist registrar)

The term by which junior doctors (ie, not consultants) under the scheme are often known

Calman-Hine Cancer Report

The report "A Policy Framework for Commissioning Cancer Services" which was commissioned in response to concerns about variations in treatment across the country. It recommended that cancer services should be organised at three levels: primary care; cancer units in local hospitals with multi-disciplinary teams able to treat the commoner cancers; and cancer centres situated in bigger hospitals to treat the less-common cancers and support cancer units with services such as radiotherapy, not available in smaller hospitals.

CAMH

Child & Adolescent Mental Health

 CAP

Common Agricultural Policy (of the European Union)

Capital

Capital expenditure is spending on the acquisition of land and premises, and on the provision, adaptation, renewal, replacement or demolition of buildings, items or groups of equipment and vehicles, etc, where the expenditure exceeds £5,000.

Care Programme Approach/Care Management (CPA)

An assessment of an individual’s needs leading to an appropriate care plan

Cash Limit

The amount of money the Government proposes to spend or authorise on certain services or blocks of services during one financial year.      

CCDC

Centre for Communicable Disease Control

CCDC

Consultant in Communicable Disease Control, usually based with the local health authority.

CCP

Community Care Plan, produced by local authorities

CD

Communicable Disease

Challenge Funds

Special "one-off" Government funds for which health authorities were able to bid in conjunction with other statutory and non-statutory agencies to finance individual social and economic regeneration projects.

CHC

See Community Health Council

CHD

Coronary Heart Disease

CHI

See Commission for Health Improvement

Child Protection Register

Each county or unitary authority has, by law, to keep a register of children who are considered to be at risk of significant harm and therefore in need of protection from the authority.

Chronic disease

A long-term illness or condition

Circulatory disease

Any disease affecting the heart or blood vessels

Clinical Governance

A new initiative in the 1997 White Paper The New NHS to assure and improve clinical standards at local level throughout the NHS. This includes action to ensure that risks are avoided, adverse events are rapidly detected, openly investigated and lessons learned, good practice is rapidly disseminated and systems are in place to ensure continuous improvements in clinical care.

Clinician

A health professional who is directly involved in the care and treatment of patients, for example nurses, doctors, therapists, midwives.          

CLS

Community Legal Service

CLSP

Community Legal Service Partnerships

CMO

Chief Medical Officer

Commission for Health Improvement (CHI)

A new national body proposed in the White Paper The New NHS and established in 1999 to support and oversee the quality of clinical governance and of clinical services.

Commissioning

Identifying health needs of local people; planning, and purchasing health services which respond to their needs

Community Health Councils (CHC)

Independent statutory bodies that were established in 1974 and represent the interests of the public in the health service provision in their area. The NHS Plan, published in July 2000, proposed their abolition and the creation of the Patient and Advocacy Liaison Service (PALS) together with several other mechanisms to replace their function        

Community Mental Health Team (CMHT)

Community Nurses

Includes practice nurses, district nurses, health visitors, school nurses.         

Community Planning

A new duty under the Local Government Bill 2000 for all local authorities to prepare a community strategy and promote economic, social and environmental well-being

Community Psychiatric Nurse (CPN)

A nurse who works in the community seeing patients with psychiatric problems both at home and in clinics.

Community Safety

A responsibility under the Crime and Disorder Act for the local authority to organise a local partnership to address issues around personal safety and crime.

Community Teams for Adults with Learning Disabilities (CTALD)

A team of staff from various backgrounds - for example psychiatry, psychology, nursing and therapies who provide specialist health care for learning disabled people

Competitive tender

An open competitive process whereby organisations or individuals can bid for a sum of money to undertake a piece of work such as delivering a public service or research

Consultant

A senior doctor who specialises in a particular area of medicine

Continuing Care

Health care provided over an extended period of time for people with long-term needs or disability

Contracted out

Services which are provided by an organisation other than the one financing them, and bound by a legal contract which may specify conditions relating to quality and performance etc.

CPN

Community Psychiatric Nurse

CSR

Comprehensive Spending Review, an annual review of government spending undertaken by HM Treasury

CTALD

Community Teams for Adults with Learning Disabilities

DAT

See Drug Action Team

Day Case

A hospital admission for a procedure not requiring overnight hospital stay

DC

District Council (see Local Authority)

DCMS

Department of Culture, Media and Sport

Designated doctor

A community paediatrician with expertise in the child protection arena, appointed by the health authority to sit on the ACPC, advise the HA on all matters relating to child protection and co-ordinate health input on child protection across agencies. Each NHS Trust has a “named doctor” to fulfil a similar function for them.

Designated nurse

A community nurse with expertise in the child protection arena, appointed by the health authority to sit on the ACPC, advise the Health Authority on nursing and health matters relating to child protection and co-ordinate particularly nursing input on child protection across agencies. Each NHS Trust has a “named nurse” to fulfil a similar function for them.

Determinants of health

Lifestyle and social factors that contribute to the health and well-being of the population - e.g. Good-quality housing, education and nutrition

DETR

Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, now split into Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Department of Transport and Local Regions

DfEE

Department for Education and Employment

DEFRA

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, created from a re-organisation of DETR and MAFF.

DGH

District General Hospital

Diana Community Nurses Team

A team of nurses, therapists and others providing care at home for children with life-threatening illnesses and funded by the Diana Memorial Fund.  One of the nine teams funded nationally is based in Cambridgeshire.

Disability registers

A register of all people with a significant disability

DoE

Department of Environment

DoH

Department of Health

DPAS

Drug Prevention Advisory Service, part of the Home Office Action Against Drugs Unit. DPAS advises Government and local Drug Action Teams on good practice across all four themes of the National Drug Strategy. Their many publications can be viewed via their website.

DPH

Director of Public Health, based in a Health Authority

DRG

Drug Reference Group or Diagnosis Related Group – a case mix measurement system

Drug & Alcohol Arrest Referral Scheme (DAARS)

A scheme employing specialist drug workers to assess people arrested for crimes and refer to treatment services if appropriate

Drug Action Team (DAT)

Drug Action Team is a multi-sectoral partnership to develop local strategy to reduce drug and alcohol consumption and related criminal activity. Its Annual Plan is agreed with UK Anti-Drugs Co-ordinator in June.

Drug Treatment & Testing Orders (DTTO)

Drug Treatment & Testing Orders are an order (from October 2000) under the Crime & Disorder Act, enabling courts – with the consent of an individual and the support of the Probation Service – to sentence someone to an intensive treatment and rehabilitation programme

DSS

Department of Social Security

DTI

Department of Trade and Industry

DTLR

Department of Transport and Local Regions

DTTO

See Drug Treatment & Testing Orders

Dual diagnosis

A term that refers to people with more than one diagnosis, most commonly people with mental illness and drug or alcohol problems.  It can also be used to refer to people with mental illness and learning disability.

 E

ECR

See Extra Contractual Referral

EHO

Environmental Health Officer, usually based in a District, Unitary/Borough Council (see Local Authority)

Elective

Care and treatments that are planned in advance

Emergency Activity

The difficulties faced by NHS trusts in accommodating increasing numbers of patients requiring emergency hospital admission

ENT

To do with the ear, nose and throat

EP

English Partnerships

EQUIP

Enabling Quality In Practice

ERDF

European Regional Development Fund. European funding for economic regeneration available through a competitive bidding process to deprived areas in the EU

ESF

European Social Fund

EU

European Union

Extra Contractual Referrals (ECRs)

An arrangement under the NHS internal market to cover a referral to a NHS Trust for which there was no existing contract with the patient’s Health Authority or GP fund-holder. These are now known as Out of Area Treatments (OATs) as a result of the Government’s December 1997 White Paper The New NHS.

FCO

Foreign and Commonwealth Office, an office of the government which oversees foreign policy

FEFC

Further Education Funding Council

FHSA

Family Health Service Authority. Their functions were integrated into Health Authorities in the early 1990s.

Four-tier model

A system developed in CAMH services based on four tiers of provision from level 1 at primary care level to level 4, covering highly specialised regional services.

FRCA

Farming and Rural Conservation Agency

Fundholders

Primary care organisations that undertook the direct purchase of health care from providers on behalf of their patient and were funded directly by the government. These were replaced by PCGs and more recently PCTs

GDP 

Gross Domestic Product

General Medical Services (GMS)

General medical services are services provided by family doctors (GPs) and their staff, as provided for in Section 29 of the 1997 Act, and framed in the General Medical Services Regulations 1992….or…the main source of payment to GPs

GLA

Greater London Authority, the strategic authority for London headed up by the Mayor of London and overseen by representatives from local authorities. It has limited revenue-raising power.

GMC

General Medical Council. An independent organisation which regulates the medical profession

GMS

See General Medical Services

GO (or GOR)

Government Office for the Regions i.e. overseeing the GONW, GOSE etc.

GOCU

Government Office Central Unit

GOL

Government Office for London

GOMB

Government Office Management Board

GONW

Government Office for the North-West

GOSE

Government Office for the South-East

GOWM

Government Office for the West Midlands

GOYH

Government Office for Yorkshire and the Humber

GP

General Practitioner (Family doctor)

GP Commissioning Groups

Pilot projects established in April 1998, they were based around groups of fundholding and non-fundholding GPs. They managed a prescribing budget and worked closely with their local Health Authority to develop health strategies and advise on service developments for local populations. Many have now been integrated into PCGs

GP Fundholding

A GP whose practice manages a budget for its practice staff, certain hospital referrals, drug costs, community nursing services and management costs. These have been replaced by PCGs      

Green Paper

A consultative document from Government that outlines the way policy and services will operate in the future. Once its content has been debated in Parliament, and any necessary changes and amendments made, it (usually) progresses to a White Paper (see below).