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Social Enterprise - Making a Difference: a guide to the Right to Request

  • Document type:
    Guidance
  • Author:
    Department of Health
  • Published date:
    20 November 2008
  • Primary audience:
    Health and social care professionals
  • Gateway reference:
    10872
  • Copyright holder:
    Crown

Social Enterprise - Making a Difference: a guide to the Right to Request

The ‘right to request’ is part of a bigger vision for the future of the NHS as set out in High Quality Care For All: NHS Next Stage Review Final Report published in June 2008. This recognised that we will only succeed in placing quality at the heart of everything we do if frontline NHS staff are given the freedom to use their talents to find innovative ways to improve quality of care for patients.  It identifies the need to enable NHS services everywhere to best respond to the needs of their local communities and the need for a new accountability. 

 This guide aims to support NHS staff who are thinking of taking up the ‘right to request’ and setting up a social enterprise to deliver healthcare services to NHS patients, free at the point of delivery. 

 It tries to answer some the questions you may have about setting up a social enterprise, setting out some of the benefits, but also the risks and challenges involved and helping you to decide if this is the right decision for you.  It goes on to help you identify the next steps you will need to take in developing your business case and planning the future of your social enterprise, and how to find further information.

Expression of interest template and guidance for making an initial right to request

PCT staff who are interested in making a right to request to deliver services through a social enterprise will first need to complete an expression of interest, which should be presented to the PCT board for consideration. To assist staff with this, a template and guidance have been produced that staff can use to make this initial expression of interest.

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