Response to the Committee's 6th report, HCP 696-I, session 2003-04 (ISBN 0215020073)

With allergies affecting about 30% of the adult population, and 40% of children, the need for a skilled primary care service is essential. The Committee, though, found serious problems in provision of such services. To combat this, the Committee recommends; setting up a network of primary care allergy providers; improved incentives for GPs to treat allergies; a system for better training in understanding and dealing with allergies; developing a framework that introduces allergies into the GPs Special Interest programme, so giving their treatment higher priority. Besides the deficiencies highlighted in the primary care services, the Committee also recommends improvements to secondary and tertiary care, and that at least one specialist allergy centre should be located in each of the former NHS regions, serving populations of between 5-7 million, and with a minimum of four allergy consultants. The Committee thinks that in the longer term, allergies should be the focus of a full specialist consultant workforce, with every major teaching hospital having a consultant-led service

provision of allergy Services : Sixth report of session 2003-04, Vol. 2: Oral and written Evidence

NHS Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) were created in 2002 to commission health services for their local populations, and are currently responsible for controlling about 80 per cent of the £76 billion NHS annual budget. In addition, PCTs have responsibility for public health, and many also provide community-based health services such as district nursing and community hospitals. The Committee's report examines the Government's proposals (set out in the Department of Health paper 'Commissioning a Patient-led NHS' published in July 2005, which can be downloaded at http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/11/67/17/04116717.pdf) to cut the number of PCTs and to contract out community health services by the end of 2008. The report raises a number of serious concerns about the proposals, including in relation to: failings in the consultation process; the impact of PCT restructuring and divestment of provider services; and the likelihood that the estimated financial savings of £250 million will be achieved.

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