The purpose of this website is to provide a reliable way of communicating with, and providing clearer information to, people working within primary and community health services in our area.

It's actually quite difficult to organise all the information, or for that matter provide all that might be wanted, so we'd be really keen to get feedback and advice as to what is needed, what isn't, and how to make it easier to use.

Please email David Davies david.davies@somerset.nhs.uk or Kathy Bartley katherine.bartley@somcoastpct.nhs.uk with (polite) suggestions.

Why is the website password protected?

There are in fact two Somerset Coast PCT websites, joined hopefully seamlessly: one for health service staff (password protected) and one for members of the public.

The reason for this is not actually secrecy - we are allocated space on the Somerset NHS webspace intranet basically for free, but this is has to be password protected (as it is intranet and not internet) and cannot therefore be accessed by members of the public.  About 85% of all access to a website tends to be by members of the organisation, so we feel it is appropriate to put the bulk of the information on the intranet website for health service users.

To provide information for members of the public we therefore have to pay an internet provider.  We are much more limited in space, but the amount of information we are (a) at liberty to divulge and (b) feel members of the public would be interested in (and cannot access it elsewhere) is more limited too.  We hope we've got the balance right.