ABSTRACT

Who are the Hospital Managers? The first complication is that there are different types of hospital and this determines the identity of the managers. If the hospital is vested in an NHS Trust, then that Trust as a body becomes the hospital managers. If the hospital is vested in an NHS Foundation Trust, then that Foundation Trust becomes the hospital managers. If the hospital is vested in, or the responsibility of, a Primary Care Trust (PCT) then that PCT becomes the hospital managers. Finally, for an independent hospital, the person(s) registered in respect of that hospital by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) (they may be individuals, a company or some other kind of body) becomes the hospital managers. For most decisions, hospital managers do not have to perform their functions personally (e.g. by decision of the board of an NHS Trust), but may delegate them to officers (i.e. members of their staff) and, in some cases, to other people.