Are you nervous about what primary care trusts mean for your job? Their launch has considerable implications for community nurses employed by them and the RCN has published guidance to reassure. Here we outline the key points

APRIL 2000 MARKS ONE OF THE MOST RADICAL changes to primary health care when 17 primary care trusts (PCTs) are launched. Forty more are planned for October. PCTs have been specifically designed to make primary care services more responsive to local health needs. They will enable community nurses to take health care right to the heart of their communities, and will operate across professional and organisational boundaries. The RCN has welcomed the government’s vision for a health service that aims to strengthen primary health care, but it believes that PCTs must be implemented at a manageable pace with the support of the nurses and the communities they serve.