National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990

The National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 (c. 19) introduced an internal market into the supply of healthcare in the United Kingdom, making the state an 'enabler' rather than a supplier of health and social care provision.

National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990

Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to make further provision about health authorities and other bodies constituted in accordance with the National Health Service Act 1977; to provide for the establishment of National Health Service trusts; to make further provision about the financing of the practices of medical practitioners; to amend Part VII of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and Part III of the Local Government Finance Act 1982; to amend the National Health Service Act 1977 and the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978; to amend Part VIII of the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984; to make further provision concerning the provision of accommodation and other welfare services by local authorities and the powers of the Secretary of State as respects the social services functions of such authorities; to make provision for and in connection with the establishment of a Clinical Standards Advisory Group; to repeal the Health Services Act 1976; and for connected purposes.
Citation	1990 c. 19
Dates
Royal assent	29 June 1990
Text of the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

Contents

The Act states that it is a duty for local authorities to assess people for social care and support to ensure that people who need community care services or other types of support get the services they are entitled to. Patients have their needs and circumstances assessed and the results determine whether or not care or social services will be provided. This also ensures that the people giving the care follow a certain set of rules called the care value base. Local authority resources can be taken into account during the assessment process, but if it is deemed that services are required, those services must be provided by law: services cannot be withdrawn at a later date if resources become limited.

The Act also split the role of district health authorities and local authorities by changing their internal structure, so that local authority departments assess the needs of the local population and then purchase the necessary services from 'providers'. To become 'providers' in the internal market, health organisations became NHS trusts, competing with each other. Community care ensures that people in need of long-term care are now able to live either in their own home, with adequate support, or in a residential home setting.

It established GP Fundholding.

Finally, the Act made provision for the establishment of family health services authorities in place of family practitioner committees and for the establishment of NHS trusts.

See also

• Health Services Act 1980
• Care Act 2014
• Care programme approach
• National Health Service Act 1977 (c 49)
• National Health Service Act 2006 (c 41)

Further reading

• Preface in Quality of care: testing some measures in homes for elderly people, pp 12 – 18