Public Services Ombudsman: From 1 Different Sources
see Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
The approach to health that is concerned with the health of the community as a whole. The three core public health functions are: the assessment and monitoring of the health of communities and populations at risk to identify health problems and priorities; the formulation of public policies designed to solve identified local and national health problems and priorities; and ensuring that all populations have access to appropriate and cost-effective care, including health promotion and disease prevention services, and evaluation of the effectiveness of that care. See “community health”.... public health
See DENTAL SURGEON.... general dental services
Services provided by government to improve the social welfare of those who need them.... social services
Usually managed by NHS trusts, these are a complex variety of services provided to people outside hospital settings. The key parts are the services delivered by district nurses, health visitors and therapists – for example, physiotherapists and speech therapists.... community health services
The blend of health and social services provided to an individual or family in his/her place of residence for the purpose of promoting, maintaining or restoring health or minimizing the effects of illness and disability. These services are usually designed to help older people remain independent and in their own homes. They can include senior centres, transportation, delivered meals or congregate meals sites, visiting nurses or home health aides, adult day care and homemaker services.... community-based care / community-based services / programmes
Willingness and/or ability to seek, use and, in some settings, pay for services. Sometimes further subdivided into expressed demand (equated with use) and potential demand or need.... demand (for health services)
Transportation for older adults to services and appointments. May use buses, taxis, volunteer drivers, or van services that can accommodate wheelchairs and persons with other special needs.... escort services
The multidisciplinary field of scientific investigation that studies how social factors, financing systems, organizational structures and processes, health technologies, and personal behaviours affect access to health care, the quality and cost of health care, and ultimately health and well-being. Its research domains are individuals, families, organizations, institutions, communities and populations.... health services research
Public policy characterized by an explicit concern for health and equity in all areas of policy and by an accountability for health impact.... healthy public policy
See “community-based care”.... home and community-based services; home and community care programme
Health services delivered on an inpatient basis in hospitals, nursing homes or other inpatient institutions. The term may also refer to services delivered on an outpatient basis by departments or other organizational units of such institutions, or sponsored by them.... institutional (care) health services
A network of organizations, usually including hospitals and medical practitioner groups, that provides or arranges to provide a coordinated continuum of services to a defined population and is held both clinically and financially accountable for the outcomes in the populations served.... integrated delivery system / integrated services network (isn)
The provision of assistance with laundry tasks for someone in his or her own home, either through a central facility or by a home help in the home.... laundry services
Comprehensive mental health services, as generally defined under some national (or state) laws and statutes, include: inpatient care, outpatient care, day care and other partial hospitalization and emergency services; specialized services for the mental health of the elderly; consultation and education services and specialized programmes for the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of alcohol and drug abusers. They generally include a variety of services provided to people of all ages, including counselling, psychotherapy, psychiatric services, crisis intervention and support groups. Issues addressed include depression, grief, anxiety and stress, as well as severe mental illnesses.... mental health services
Health services concerned with the physical, mental and social well-being of an individual in relation to his/her working environment and with the adjustment of individuals to their work. The term applies to more than the safety of the workplace and includes health and job satisfaction.... occupational health services
A person who investigates complaints and mediates fair settlements, especially between aggrieved parties, such as consumers, and an institution or organization.... ombudsman
See “ambulatory care”.... outpatient services
Health services targeted at populations with specific diseases or disorders.... population-based services
A good or service whose benefits may be provided to a group at no more cost than that required to provide for one person. The benefits of the good are indivisible and individuals cannot be excluded. For example, a public health measure that eradicates smallpox protects all, not just those paying for the vaccination.... public good
See “statutory sector”.... public sector
A statutory organisation that is part of the NHS. It comprises ten laboratory groups and two centres in the UK, with central coordination from PHLS headquarters. The service provides diagnostic-testing facilities for cases of suspected infectious disease. The remit of the PHLS (which was set up during World War II and then absorbed into the NHS) is now based on legislation approved in 1977 and 1979. Its overall purpose was to protect the population from infection by maintaining a national capability of high quality for the detection, diagnosis, surveillance, protection and control of infections and communicable diseases. It provided microbiology services to hospitals, family doctors and local authorities as well as providing national reference facilities. In 2001 it was incorporated into the newly established NATIONAL INFECTION CONTROL AND HEALTH PROTECTION AGENCY.... public health laboratoryservice (phls)
Health services re-orientation is characterized by a more explicit concern for the achievement of population health outcomes in the ways in which the health system is organized and funded.... re-orienting health services
Accommodation and support for people who can no longer live at home.... residential care services
The coordinated, or otherwise explicitly agreed upon, sharing of responsibility for provision of medical or nonmedical services on the part of two or more otherwise independent hospitals or health programmes.... shared services
In the UK, this NHS authority (UKTSSA) provides a 24-hour service for matching, allocating and distributing organs. It is also responsible for keeping the records of all patients awaiting transplants. Established in 1991, the authority allocates donor organs without favour, following protocols set by advisory groups. It also administers the Human Organ Transplant Act on behalf of the Department of Health. (See TRANSPLANTATION.)... transplant support services authority
see domiciliary services.... community services
(HHS) the major US government agency providing health care. The department was created in 1953 and assumed its current name in 1980. HHS administers more than 300 health and health-related programmes and services, including *Medicare and *Medicaid. Other activities include research, immunization services, and providing financial assistance for low-income families. Almost a quarter of federal spending occurs through HHS.... department of health and human services
(DPH) a senior public health consultant or specialist in a local authority. Responsibilities include advising on the health needs of the local population. See also public health consultant; public health specialist.... director of public health
(in Britain) health and social services that are available in the home and are distinguished from hospital-based services. They include the services of such personnel as community nurses employed by care trusts (see district nurse; community midwife; health visitor) and social workers and care assistants employed by social service departments of local authorities. The term community services is applied to these services.... domiciliary services
see HEMS.... helicopter-based emergency medical services
(NHSPSA) see NHS Business Services Authority.... nhs prescription services authority
(in England) an official responsible to Parliament and appointed to protect the interests of patients in relation to administration of and provision of health care by the *National Health Service. He or she can investigate complaints about the NHS when they cannot be resolved locally. In Scotland, and in Wales, this role is undertaken by a Public Services Ombudsman.... parliamentary and health service ombudsman
programmes of lay education in the UK that aim to provide training in cardiac resuscitation up to and including *defibrillation. Together with programmes to increase the availability of *automated external defibrillators in public places (e.g. shops and railway stations), they recognize that the best outcomes from cardiac resuscitation are obtained with early defibrillation and good bystander basic life support.... public access defibrillation programmes
(in Britain) a medical consultant with postgraduate training in public health. Formerly known as community physicians, such consultants undertake public health functions, either as *Directors of Public Health in local authorities or as consultants in public health in local authorities, *Public Health England, or elsewhere. See also public health specialist.... public health consultant
the ethics of population (as opposed to individual) health, including issues related to epidemiology, disease prevention, health promotion, *justice, and *equality. Public health ethics is commonly concerned with the tensions between individual *autonomy and *communitarianism and/or *utilitarianism.... public health ethics
the specialty concerned with preventing disease and improving health in populations as distinct from individuals. Formerly known as community medicine or social medicine, it includes *epidemiology, *health promotion, *health service planning, *health protection, and evaluation. See also public health consultant.... public health medicine
(PHS) the oldest and one of the largest US federal health agencies. Founded in 1798 as a system of hospitals for sailors, the PHS is now the major health service operating division of the *Department of Health and Human Services and administers eleven agencies, including the *Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The agency employs tens of thousands of people with a total annual budget well into the billions.... public health service
a public health practitioner with postgraduate training in public health or with demonstrated competence in key areas of public health practice. These specialists perform the same roles as *public health consultants but do not have medical training.... public health specialist
1. the expression of concern about performance or competence that is privileged at law by virtue of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998. The statute provides that where an employee acts in good faith in questioning the behaviour or performance of another member of staff or an organization, he or she should be protected from such penalties as disciplinary procedures, suspension, or dismissal. See also whistle-blowing. 2. circumstances in which *confidentiality can be breached because there is a serious risk of physical harm to an identifiable individual or individuals. The basis on which confidentiality can be breached in the public interest were defined in the case of W v Egdell, in which the court held that the risk had to be of physical harm to identifiable person(s) and must not be merely ‘fanciful’. Where there is a serious risk of physical harm to a specific person, there is an entitlement but not a duty to breach confidentiality, and the *General Medical Council requires that doctors must be prepared to justify their decision either way.... public interest disclosure
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