National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990

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The NHS and Community Care Act (1990) is a piece of legislation which governs health care and social care in the United Kingdom. It sets out how the National Health Service should assess and provide for patients based on their needs, requirements and circumstances. The act introduced an internal market into the supply of healthcare making the state an 'enabler' rather than a supplier of health and social care provision.^[1]

The Act states that it is a duty for local authorities to assess people for social care and support. This is to ensure that people who need community care services or other types of support get the services they are entitled to. Patients have their needs and circumstances assessed and the results determine whether or not care or social services will be provided.

Local authority resources can be taken into account during the assessment process, but if it is deemed that services are required, then those services must be provided by law: services can't be withdrawn at a later date if resources become limited.