HEALTH bosses which hold the purse strings to the county’s £800 million healthcare budget are working towards a “world class” rating.

NHS Worcestershire which manages all the county’s NHS funding from GPs’ salaries to hospital maternity services, is due to be assessed to see whether it is a “world class commissioner”.

The organisation can only be a world class commissioner if it is deemed to work closely with GPs, local authorities and hospitals to secure the best possible healthcare for patients.

Next month NHS Worces-tershire has to submit documents and a self-assessment where health bosses will record how well they feel the organisation has performed in the 10 competency areas.

A day of questioning and investigation will take place in May where watchdog the Strategic Health Authority and representatives from other primary care trusts and the Department of Health will quiz leaders of NHS Worcestershire over performance.

The organisation will then be assessed and compared with other primary care trusts across the country with a final report expected to be published in early July next year.

The report will look at ‘health outcomes’, which is how well NHS Worcester-shire has worked towards reducing problems such as obesity and smoking, governance (financial management and general strategy) and ‘competencies’, which assesses how well the organisation is performing.

The trust is scored from one to four (four being a world class rating).

NHS Worcestershire has already agreed to invest more than £20 million over the next five years on a number of public health initiatives, including health trainers to offer lifestyle advice to people in the more deprived areas of Worcester, specifically Warndon.

NHS Worcestershire has also worked with Worcester-shire County Council to provide a £1 million health improvement fund for community-based projects to improve health.