Local authority scrutiny of health: Making the views of the community count?

Objective: To look at the preparations being made for the introduction of scrutiny of local health services by social service local authorities. Design: A baseline postal survey carried out in late 2002 of all social service local authorities in England. Setting: Against a backdrop of changing structures and policy, both within local government and the National Health Service (NHS) in England and before the official introduction of health scrutiny in January 2003. Survey from the local authority perspective. Results: Progress is being made in the implementation of this new policy, and many local authorities have already carried out pilot scrutiny exercises of local health provision. The survey highlights the different approaches authorities are taking to initiate implementation of health scrutiny and the importance of support, in terms of resources, guidance and training, for overview and scrutiny to be successful. Discussion and Conclusions: Further evaluation of the implementation of health scrutiny is required to examine the impact on local governance of the NHS and partnership working.