Your assignment is to prepare and submit a paper on the national health service.

Your assignment is to prepare and submit a paper on the national health service. This paper explains each of such institutions and sectors briefly along with their source of funding and the authority to which they are accountable. STRUCTURE OF NHS The following diagram shows the structure of the NHS: Diagram 1: Structure of NHS It can be observed from the diagram that the highest authority in the NHS is held by the Parliament and a number of sectors are accountable directly to the parliament. Following is the brief explanations of each of the constituent of the NHS. Parliament Like every other department run by the government, the NHS is also accountable to Parliament. The Government allocates funds to the NHS from the revenue received from taxation. Parliament determines the extent of funds to be allocated to the NHS. The funds are then forwarded to the Department of Health, which is ultimately accountable to the Parliament for the utilization of the funds and the overall performance of the NHS. Parliament oversees the Department of Health and it ensures that the Department of Health is performing efficiently. The Parliament can initiate any inquiry procedures against the Department of Health in order to assess its effectiveness. In case of any inquiries regarding the NHS, Parliament summons the personnel who are accountable from the Department of Health. Thus, the highest place in the hierarchy of the NHS is given to the Parliament. Department of Health The Department of Health is responsible for running the NHS and improving its overall performance. The organisation provides the NHS with. the resources that are necessary to run the service, the strategic direction, and the standards that need to be followed uniformly throughout the subsidiary departments in the NHS. Thus, the Department of Health regulates the NHS as a whole and performs a central role in the effectiveness of the NHS. Each subsidiary institution in the NHS is accountable to the Department of Health and this department does the allocation of funds of each of the subsidiary institution. The Department of Health constitutes of the Secretary of State for Health along with five Health Ministers and a number of boards that are assigned with different tasks regarding the oversight and betterment of the subsidiary institutions of the NHS. The decisions regarding the formation of strategy, allocation of funds and investments, setting of quality standards and business development are done y the Ministerial core of the department and the boards are responsible to carry out their respective tasks such as. exercising oversight over professions within the healthcare systems such as. dentists, pharmacists etc. Monitor Monitor is an independent institute funded by the Department of Health and accountable directly to the Parliament. The objective of this institute is to assess the NHS trusts and determining whether the trusts are eligible to be classified as foundation trusts and to regulate the foundations trusts. The factor that makes this institute a powerful body is that it is independent of the central government. The results of its assessments and other reporting procedures are given directly to the Parliament. The institute assesses the NHS trusts in accordance with three criteria that are. whether they are well governed, whether they are financially viable, and whether they are constituted legally.