WORKING IN THE NHS

For the NHS a typical day includes:

Over 835,000 people visiting their GP practice or practice

nurse

Almost 50,000 people visiting accident and emergency

departments

49,000 outpatient consultations

94,000 people admitted to hospital as an emergency

admission

36,000 people in hospital for planned treatment

28,000 sight tests being carried out

18,000 calls to NHS Direct

The structure of the NHS

Hospitals in the NHS are managed by NHS trusts (sometimes called
acute trusts) and are run by a trust board. These trusts make sure

that hospitals provide high quality health care, and that they spend
their money efficiently. Mental health trusts and ambulance trusts
have a similar structure but tend to cover wider areas. There are

almost 300 hospital, mental health and ambulance trusts, and 152
primary care trusts in England.

Primary care is provided in your local community via your local GP,
NHS walk-in centre, dentist, pharmacist and optician. NHS Direct is

also responsible for providing healthcare advice and information 24

hours a day via the internet and over the telephone.
All hospital and mental health trusts are dependent on primary care
trusts (PCTs) commissioning services such as elective surgery,

outpatient visits and other treatments from them, but PCTs also run
community-based hospitals and provide services such as district
nursing and health promotion.

PCTs still tend to commission many services from their local

hospital. However, under the patient choice initiative, anyone

needing elective hospital treatment will be offered a choice of where
it is carried out, including independent sector treatment centres
(ISTCs) run by private companies.
Strategic health authorities (SHAs) cover large areas - typically
neighbouring counties or large city areas - and are responsible for
overseeing other NHS organisations in their area and leading on
issues such as workforce development and capacity.
Benefits of working in the NHS
Everyone who joins the NHS is guaranteed a salary that matches
their ability and responsibilities, and is

given every opportunity to increase it through training and

development. On top of your basic salary, you will be entitled to five

weeks holiday a year. This rises to six weeks as you go through
your training. You will also receive a range of other benefits,

including occupational health and counselling services. The NHS

Pension Scheme is one of the most generous and comprehensive in
the UK. Every new

employee automatically becomes a member and you will get an

excellent package of pension benefits,

fully protected against inflation and guaranteed by the government.

NICE National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
http://www.nice.org.uk/

NICE is an independent organisation responsible for providing

national guidance on promoting good health and preventing and

treating ill health. NICE produces guidance in three areas of health:

public health - guidance on the promotion of good health and

the prevention of ill health for those working in the NHS, local
authorities and the wider public and voluntary sector

health technologies - guidance on the use of new and existing

medicines, treatments and procedures within the NHS

clinical practice - guidance on the appropriate treatment and

care of people with specific diseases and conditions within the

NHS.
Terminology: http://www.whatisseries.co.uk/whatis/

The What is ? series is intended to demystify some of the

terminology, techniques and practices used to assess clinical and
economic evidence within healthcare. It contains a range of titles
covering:

Health economics
Statistics

Evidence-based medicine
The NHS and health technology assessment

The series aims to provide healthcare professionals at all levels with

essential information to increase their understanding of these
complex areas.

What is health economics?

What is cost-effectiveness?
What is cost-utility analysis?

What is cost-minimisation analysis?

What are health utilities?
What is quality of life?
What is a QALY?

What is sensitivity analysis?

What is a Cox model?

What are confidence intervals and p-values?

What are hazard ratios?

What is indirect comparison?

What is Bayesian statistics?

What is an NNT?
What is evidence-based medicine?
What is a systematic review?
What is meta-analysis?

What is critical appraisal?

What is health technology assessment?

What are the HTA processes in the UK?

What is Payment by Results?
Implementing NICE guidance

What is world class commissioning?

Doctors Prescribing Medication:
The BNF (British National Formulary) provides UK healthcare
professionals with authoritative and practical information on the
selection and clinical use of medicines in a clear, concise and

accessible manner. It is available in all hospitals and is updated

every 6 months. You can also buy a copy on www.amazon.co.uk