An NHS primary care trust (PCT) was a type of NHS trust, part of the National Health Service in England. PCTs were largely administrative bodies, responsible for commissioning primary, community and secondary health services from providers. Until 31 May 2011 they also provided community health services directly. Collectively PCTs were responsible for spending around 80% of the total NHS budget. Primary Care Trusts were abolished on 31 March 2013 as part of the Health and Social Care Act 2012, with their work taken over by clinical commissioning groups.
PCTs held their own budgets and set their own priorities, within the overriding priorities and budgets set by the relevant Strategic Health Authority, and the Department of Health. They provided funding for general practitioners and medical prescriptions; they also commissioned hospital and mental health services from appropriate NHS provider trusts or from the private sector. Many PCTs used the naming style "NHS", followed by the geographical area, to make it easier for local people to understand the management of the NHS locally.
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