What type of services do NHS Foundation Trusts provide?

NHS Foundation Trusts primarily provide primary and secondary care services. This includes a wide range of medical and health services directly delivered to patients, such as inpatient and outpatient treatments, specialist consultations, surgical procedures, and community health services. Foundation Trusts are structured to give more autonomy from the Department of Health, allowing them to operate more like independent entities while still being part of the NHS. This enables them to respond more effectively to local patient needs and provide high-quality care.

In contrast, regulatory oversight for healthcare, commissioning and funding services, and statistical analysis, while essential components of the healthcare system, are not the direct responsibilities of NHS Foundation Trusts. Regulatory bodies oversee quality and standards in healthcare, commissioning involves planning and purchasing health services, and statistical analysis focuses on data collection and interpretation for health trends and outcomes; these roles are typically handled by other organizations within the health sector.