We are informed by the chairman of Monitor (the statutory name of which is the independent regulator of NHS foundation trusts (NHS FTs) that his organisation does not hold a list of all services commenced and terminated by NHS FTs. However, all NHS FTs are required to provide details of the services that have been agreed with their primary care trust (PCT). These are listed as ‘mandatory services’ in the NHS FT’s terms of authorisation.
Any changes to the mandatory services listed in the terms of authorisation including termination of specific services requires approval from Monitor and can be done only once those changes have been agreed between the PCT and the NHS FT.