There is no specific consideration made for industrial disease prevalence in determining resource allocations to primary care trusts (PCTs) but industrial disease will be picked up in the models of utilisation of health care in the additional need element of the formula.
A weighted capitation formula is used to determine PCTs' target shares of available resources, to enable them to commission similar levels of health services for populations in similar need.
The components of the formula are used to weight each PCT's ‘crude’ population according to their relative need (age, and additional need) for health care and the unavoidable geographical differences in the cost of providing health care (market forces factor).
The additional need element of the formula is intended to reflect the relative need for health care over and above that accounted for by age. The need weighting takes the form of indices from two broad service areas:
acute and maternity;
mental health.
The indices are based on models of utilisation of health care and comprise a number of socio-economic and health related variables. There are two different groups of variables included in these models:
standard variables derived from small area statistical modelling of utilisation; and
additional morbidity variables designed to capture some of the effect of unmet need where ethnic minority groups and low income groups do not receive healthcare services to the same level as that of others with similar health characteristics.
For further information on the weighted-capitation formula, please refer to ‘Resource Allocation: Weighted Capitation Formula (Fifth edition)’. A copy is available in the Library, and can also be accessed at:
www.dh.gov.uk/allocations.