GLOSSARY

ACUTE CARE	Medical and surgical treatment usually provided by a hospital
ACUTE TRUST	An NHS body that that provides medical and surgical services from one or more hospitals.
AMBULANCE TRUST	Ambulance services are all NHS Trusts or part of NHS Trusts and respond to 999 calls, doctor’s urgent admission requests, high dependency and urgent inter-hospital transfers and major incidents. Non-emergency patient transport is commissioned separately.
CHILD AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES (CAMHS)	CAMHS are the services provided for children and young people with emotional, behavioral and mental health needs. They include services provided by PCTs, NHS Trusts, Social Services and the voluntary sector.
COMMISSIONING	The process of deciding what local people need from the NHS and buying those services with public money from the most appropriate providers. This can range from large contracts commissioning acute care from hospitals to smaller contracts with voluntary sector providers for a range of services to provide care and improve health. PCTs are responsible for commissioning the majority of health services
CHIROPDY (PODIATRY)	Medical treatment relating to the feet
COMMUNITY CARE	Health or social care and treatment outside of hospital. It can take place in clinics, non-acute hospitals or in people's homes.
CHRONIC ILLNESS	An illness that has persisted for a long period of time.
EUROPEAN WORKING TIME DIRECTIVE (EWTD)	The working time directive regulations currently apply to all health and social care staff with the exception of doctors in training. The EWTD will be extended to Doctors in training in August 2004. There will be a phased reduction in the maximum hours worked by doctors in training from 58 in 2004 to 48 in 2009.
EXECUTIVE	A Committee of elected Councillors who hold specific Portfolios usually based on service areas. The Isle of Wight Councils Executive Committee has 10 Members.
JOINT COMMISSIONING	Joint commissioning brings together health bodies and social care services in the strategic planning development of services. The Isle of Wight Council undertakes joint commissioning with both the PCT and the Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Trust.
MATERNITY SERVICES LIAISON COMMITTEE (MSLC)	MSLCs are set up by hospitals to identify ways of achieving changes in maternity care based on the experience of women who use the service and make suggestions to the hospital and PCT
NATIONAL SERVICE FRAMEWORK	These set national standards of service delivery and identify key interventions for a defined service or care group, e.g older people .
OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE (OSC)	A group of elected councilors who scrutinise and make recommendations about local issues, undertake policy development and scrutinise Council decisions.
PALLIATIVE CARE	Treatment which alleviates, but not does not cure, an illness.
PARAMEDIC	A person trained to assist medical professionals and to give emergency medical treatment
PHYSIOTHERAPY	Therapy that uses physical techniques such as exercise and massage to help patients suffering from injury or disease. They restore, maintain, and promote overall fitness and health.
PRE-OPERATIVE ASSESSMENT	This provides the patient with information prior to surgery and ensures that they are fit for surgery on the agreed date. It also gives them the opportunity to ask any questions about their treatment.
PRIMARY CARE	Primary care services are those provided by GPs, dentists, opticians and pharmacists.
PRIMARY CARE TRUST (PCT)	This is the NHS body with the responsibility for assessing local health needs and providing a wide range of health care services. These include primary care services e.g. GPs and dentists, opticians and pharmacists and community health services e.g. district nursing, health visiting and community mental health. What they cannot deliver themselves they commission from other organisation, such as Acute Trusts.
STRATEGIC HEALTH AUTHORITY	This body is responsible for performance managing the strategic delivery of health services.
UROLOGY	Medical treatment relating to the urinary system
UNITARY AUTHORITY	A single, all purpose local authority created by local government re-organisation after 1992