How we fit into the NHS structure

In January 2009, The Department of Health published the NHS Constitution which sets out a ten-year plan to provide the highest quality of care and service for patients in England.

Our Trust has an obligation to deliver quality services, meet nationally defined targets, and work in partnership with other agencies including other Acute and Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) from whom income is obtained via the Specialist Services Commissioning arrangements.

The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre operates within three structures:

  1. It forms an integral part of the Wirral Health Community, having strong organisational links with other Acute and Primary Care Trusts within that community, with a number of shared services across these organisations.
  2. It operates beyond the local Wirral community as an integral part of a wider Cancer Network for Merseyside and Cheshire. Networked cancer services provided by CCC (tertiary health services) are integrated with those of District General Hospitals (secondary health services) and the local primary care organisations (primary health services) associated with those general hospitals. The Cancer Network manages improvement programmes relating to these linked activities.
  3. Our designated lead PCT which is the Wirral PCT.

How we fit into the national NHS structure

The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre became an NHS Foundation Trust in August 2006, which is a new type of NHS trust in England. This category of trust has been created to transfer decision-making from central government to local organisations and the surrounding population.

The work conducted at Clatterbridge is based upon the overall strategic direction established by the Department of Health. The Department of Health website can be found at www.dh.gov.uk and has links to key national strategies such as NHS Plan, Cancer Reform Strategy and National Service Frameworks which guide our organisation.

Being a Foundation Trust enables the Trust to be more responsive to the needs of the local community.

NHS Constitution

In January 2009, The Department of Health published the NHS Constitution which sets out a ten-year plan to provide the highest quality of care and service for patients in England.

For the first time in the history of the NHS, the NHS Constitution aims to capture the purpose, principles and values of the NHS, and brings together a number of rights, pledges and responsibilities for staff and patients.

Find out more about the NHS Constitution.