NHS Croydon

NHS Croydon is the name for the National Health Service primary care trust with responsibility for the borough of Croydon, which covers parts of south west London and north Surrey. It is responsible for planning and funding healthcare, and for public health in Croydon. It comes under the remit NHS London, which is the strategic health authority for London.

Background and legal status

It was originally established in 2002 as Croydon Primary Care Trust by order of the then UK government’s secretary of state for health, John Hutton, using his powers under the National Health Service Act 1977.^[1] The trust took over responsibility for the health services in the area from the previously established Croydon Health Authority.

In May 2009 Croydon Primary Care Trust adopted the name of NHS Croydon as it was felt to be more accessible to local communities and better reflected the role of the organisation. NHS Croydon is now the operating name of the trust, however for legal and statutory purposes it is still uses the name Croydon Primary Care Trust.^[2]

Key responsibilities

NHS Croydon has the stated goal of ‘longer, healthier lives for all the people of Croydon'.^[3] In addition NHS Croydon has three key roles:

• Planning and funding health services through local doctors, dentists, pharmacies, voluntary sector agencies and hospitals
• Providing health services through its provider arm – Croydon Community Health Services
• Leading on public health body for the area, promoting health living and preventing the spread of disease.

Health services in Croydon

Croydon is London’s largest borough with a population of 340,000.^[4]

Croydon has 227 GPs in 64 practices, 156 dentists in 51 practices, 166 pharmacists and 70 optometrists in 28 practices.^[5]

There is one major NHS hospital trust in Croydon – Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust which provides hospital services at Mayday University Hospital and Purley War Memorial Hospital.

Health profile of Croydon

The Association of Public Health Observatories summarises the health profile of Croydon as follows^[6]:

“Overall, the health of people in Croydon is similar to the England average. The proportion of people diagnosed with diabetes and the rate of new cases of tuberculosis are higher in Croydon than the England average, but the rate of people aged over 65 in poor health, and the percentage of adults who are obese, are better than the England average. There are health inequalities within Croydon by location, gender, and ethnicity. For males living in the most deprived areas of Croydon, life expectancy is almost nine years less than for those living in the least deprived areas. For females the difference is just over five years. Over the last ten years, the death rate from all causes combined has fallen for males and remained lower than the England average. While rates for females have also improved they remain similar to the England average. Early death rates from heart disease and stroke, and cancer, have also fallen during this period. Rates of children in poverty, infant mortality, teenage pregnancy, and the level of childhood obesity, are significantly worse than the England average. Levels of breastfeeding initiation and smoking during pregnancy are, however, better.”

References

1. ^ OPSI establishment order http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2002/20021007.htm
2. ^ NHS Croydon name change http://www.croydon.nhs.uk/NewsAndEvents/Pages/nhscroydonlaunchesnewnameandnewwebsite.aspx
3. ^ NHS Croydon - http://www.croydon.nhs.uk/aboutus/whoweare/Pages/default.aspx
4. ^ Croydon Observatory http://www.croydonobservatory.org/Borough/
5. ^ Primary health care services in Croydon http://www.croydon.nhs.uk/aboutus/whoweare/Pages/default.aspx
6. ^ Health profile for Croydon – Association of Public Health Observatories: http://www.apho.org.uk/default.aspx?QN=HP_METADATA&AreaID=50271

External links

• NHS Croydon website - http://www.croydon.nhs.uk
• Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust - http://www.maydayhospital.org.uk/
• NHS London website - http://www.london.nhs.uk
• UK Department of Health Website - http://www.dh.gov.uk
• Association of Public Health Observatories - http://www.apho.org.uk
• Croydon Observatory - http://www.croydonobservatory.org