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Health and Social Services Glossary of Acronyms

P

P A pharmacy medicine

P& CC Primary & Community Care

P&GRG Policy & Guidelines Ratification Group

P & V Private & Voluntary

P 4 P Partnership for Progression

Pa Pascal

PA Police Authority

or Personal Assistant

or Patients Association

PAAG Professional Assessment & Advisory Group

PAC Public Accounts Committee

or Patients Accelerating Change

PACE Property Advisers to the Civil Estate

or Promoting Action on Clinical Effectiveness

or Police & Criminal Evidence Act 1984

PACS Picture Archiving and Communication System - a replacement for X-ray film

PACT  Prescribing Analysis & Costs - GPs get regular PACT reports from the PPA giving details of their recent prescribing, comparing them with local and national averages

or Placing, Assessment and Counselling Team

PAD Perpheral Arterial Disease

PADA Personal Accounts Delivery Authority

PAERS Patient Access to Electronic Record Systems Ltd

PAF Performance Assessment Framework

or Public Audit Forum

PAFO Pissed And Fell Over

PAGB Proprietary Association of Great Britain

PAHC Partnership Against Hate Crime

PALS Patient Advice and Liaison Service

PAMIS Parliamentary Monitoring & Intelligence Service

PAMP Pathogen Associated Molecular Pattern

PAMs  Professions Allied to Medicine - eg physiotherapists, OTs etc

PAR Programme Analysis & Review

PARR Patients at Risk of Rehospitalisation

PARS Physical Assault Reporting System

PAS Patient Administration System A main hospital database

PASA Purchasing and Supply Agency

PASG Pneumatic Anti-Shock Garment

PAT Paroxysmal Atrial Tachycardia

or Personnel Accountability Tag

or Professional Association of Teachers

or Policy Action Team

or Portable Appliance Test

PAYE Pay as you Earn

PB Pooled Budgets

or Preferred Bidder

or Project Board

PBC Public Benefit Corporation

or Practice Based Commissioning

PBCC Practice Based Commissioning Consortium

PBCF Practice Based Commissioning Framework

PBL Problem Based Learning

PBR Pre-Budget Report

or Payment By Results

PBRS Public Benefit Recording System

PBx Private Branch Exchange (type of internal telephone network)

PC Primary care

or personal computer

or politically correct

or post cibos - after meals

or Parish Council

or Public Convenience or

Patients' Council

or Pension Credit

PCA Patient controlled analgesia - usually a morphine pump

or Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration

or Personal Capability Assessment

PCAG Primary Care Audit Group

PCAP  Primary Care Act Pilot

PCC Patient Centered Care

or Primary Care Contracting

PCCD Primary & Community Care Directorate

PCCG Primary Care Commissioning Group

PCCL Primary Care Cancer Lead – clinician

PCCS Primary Care Cardiovascular Society

PCE Patient/Carer Experience

PCG    Primary Care Group (obs)

or phonocardiogram

PCHR Personal Child Health Record

PCHS Palliative Care Home Support

PCI Percutaneous Cardiac Intervention

Primary Coronary Intervention

PCIP   Primary Care Investment Plan

PCIS Primary Care Incentive Scheme

PCL Provision for Credit Liabilities

PCMCN Peninsula Cardiac Managed Clinical Network

PCMHW Primary Care Mental Health Worker

PCMS Primary Care Medical Service

PCO Primary Care Organisations

PCP Personal Communication Profile

or Person Centred Planning

or Primary Care Professional

PCPIG Patient, Carer & Public Involvement Group

PCQIP Primary Care Quality Improvement Programme

PCR Polymerase Chain Reaction

PCRC Primary Care Resource Centre

PCRG Policing & Crime Reduction Group (part of the Home Office)

PCRN Primary Care Research Network

PCS public and commercial services union

or Primary Care System

PCSA Primary Care Support Agency

PCST Police Community Safety Team

PCT Primary Care Trust

PCUS Primary Care Urology Service

PCV packed cell volume

PD Personality Disorder

or Project Director

PDC Public Dividend Capital

PDD Prescribed Daily Dose - the average daily dose which is actually prescribed

or Pervasive Development Disorder

PDFPortable Document Format A way of publishing electronically which preserves printed formatting information Needs Adobe Acrobat to view

or Partnership Development Fund

PIDA Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998

PDM Pre Diabetes Mellitus

PDO Property Damage Only

PDP Practice Development Plan

or Personal Development Plan

PDR Personal Development Review

PDRS Pre Diabetes (Mellitus) Risk Score

PDS Primary Dental Service

or Parkinson's Disease Society

PDSA Plan Do Study Act

PE Physical Examination

or Pulmonary Embolism

PEA Pulseless Electrical Activity

or Personal Expense Allowance

PEARL Pupils Equal And Reactive to Light

PEAT Patient Environment Action Team

PEC PCT Professional Executive Committee

or Practitioner in Emergency Care

PECS Picture Exchange Communication System

PEDC Potential Elderly Domiciliary Clients (part of SSA)

PEFR Peak Expiry Flow Rate

PEG Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy

or Patient Experience Group

PEOG Public Engagement & Overview Group

PERL Pupils Equal and Reactive to Light

PERT Pontefract Emergency Response Team

PES Public Expenditure Survey

PESC Public Expenditure Survey Committee (obs)

PESR Potential Elderly Supported Residents (part of SSA)

PET Positron Emission Tomography

PETA People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

PETS paediatric emergency transfer service

PF Patients' Forum

PFC Patient Focused Care

P f H Partnership for Health

PFI  Private Finance Initiative

PFMA Practice Fund Management Allowance

PFP Pandemic Flu Plan

PFR Planning For Real

PFSG Pandemic Flu Steering Group

PFU Private Finance Unit

PGCME Postgraduate and Continuing Medical Education

PGD Postgraduate Dean

or Patient Group Directions

PGEA Postgraduate Education Allowance

PGMDE Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education

pH a measure of acidity or alkalinity

PHA Public Health Alliance Now part of UKPHA

or Port Health Authority

or Public Health Act 1936

PHAB Physically Disabled and Able-Bodied

PH&KD Physiotherapy Hip & Knee Department

PHANYC Public Health Association of New York City

PHC Primary Health Care

PHCT Primary Health Care Team

PHCSG Primary Health Care Specialist Group of the British Computer Society

PhD Philosophiae Doctor (Doctor of Philosophy)

or Public Health Department

PHeL Public Health Electronic Library

PHIS Public Health Institute of Scotland (obs)

PHL Public Health Laboratory

PHLS  Public Health Laboratory Service

PHO Public Health Observatory

PHP Public Health Practitioner

PHPU Public Health Policy Unit

PHRRC Public Health Research and Resource Centre

PHRU Public Health Resource Unit

PHSO Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman

PHSS Personal Health Summary System

PHT Pre Hospital Thrombolysis

PHTLS Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support

PIPerformance Indicator

or Parallel Imports

PIA Partnership In Action

or Personal Injury Accident

or Pain in the Ass

or Patient Impact Assessment

PIAG Patient Information Advisory Group

PIB Physical Impairment Board

PICS Platform for Internet Content Selection

PICU   Paediatric or Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit

PID Pelvic Inflammatory Disease

or Prolapsed Intervertebral Disc - Slipped disc

or Paediatric Immunology Deficiency

or Project Initiation Document

PIDA Public Interest Disclosure Act

PIF Patient Information Forum

PIG Policy Implementation Groups

or Promoting Independence Grant

or Professional Interest Group

or Prognostic Indicator Guide

or Public Involvement Group

PIL Patient Information Leaflet

PIM Performance Improvement Manager

PIN Personal identification number

or Prior Identification Notice

PIP Performance Improvement Plan

PIS Paediatric Immunology Service

or Prescribing Incentive Scheme

PITA Pain In The ass

PIU Performance and Innovation Unit

PLA Pre School Learning Alliance

PLAB Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board

PLD People with Learning Disabilities

PLP Personal Learning Plan

PLPI Product Licence Parallel Import

PLS Paediatric Life Support

or Psychiatric Liaison Service

PLT Protected Learning Time

PM Programme Management

PMA Personal Medical Attendant What insurance companies and the like call the doctor who writes a report for them

PMD Prescribing Monitoring Document

PMDU Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit

PMETB Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board

PMF Performance Management Framework

PMH Past Medical History

PMHS Primary Mental Health Service

PMI Private Medical Insurance

PMLD Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities

PMN Polymorphonuclear Neutrophil

PMR Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

or progressive muscle relaxation

PMS    Primary Medical Services

or Performance Management Support

PMSG pregnant mare's serum gonadotrophin

PN percussion note - part of the examination of the chest

or Priority Neighbourhoods

PNA Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment

PNC Practice Nurse Coordinator

PND Paroxysmal Nocturnal Dyspnea

or Post Natal Depression

PNL Prior Notification List (of patients for screening)

PNS Peripheral Nervous System

PO Per oral - by mouth

POA Power Of Attorney

POC Point Of Care

Po CA Protection of Children Act 1999

POCT Point of Care Testing

PODS Patient's Own Drugs

POETS Piss Off Early Tomorrow is Saturday

POINT Publications On the INTernet (Department of Health)

POISE Procurement Of Information Systems Effectively The standard procedure followed for procurement of Information systems

POLIS Parliamentary Online Indexing Service

POLST Physicians Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment

POM Prescription Only Medicine

POP Purchase Order Processing

POPPS Partnerships for Older People Projects

POPUMET Protection of Persons Undergoing Medical Examination

POQ Piss off quick (Get out of a dangerous situation)

POSH Promoting Opportunities in Health & Social Care

POSIX Portable Operating System Interface

POU Pulmonary Oncology Unit - Chest cancers

POVA Protection Of Vulnerable Adults from Abuse

PPA     Prescription Pricing Authority - costs all prescriptions dispensed in England in order to pay chemists for the costs of the drugs etc they dispense

PPARC Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council

PPBS Planning, Programming & Budgeting System

PPC Preferred Place of Care

PPCI Primary Percutaneous Cardiac Intervention

PPD Prescription Pricing Division

PPDP Practice Professional Development Plans

PPDR Practice Profession Development and Revalidation

PPE Personal Protective Equipment

or Patient & Public Engagement

PPF Priorities and Planning Framework

PPG Principal Police Grant

or Planning Policy Guidance

or Public Participation Group

PPI Proton Pump Inhibitor

or Patient and Public Involvement

PPIF Patient and Public Involvement Forum (obs)

PPM Planned Preventative Maintenance

PPO Preferred Provider Organisation

PPP Private Patients Plan

or Public Private Partnership

PPPP Public-Private Partnership Programme (aka 4Ps)

PPRS Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme

PPS Professional Practice Skills

or Planning Policy Statement

PPSA Peninsular Purchasing Supply Alliance

PPU Private patients unit

PPV Pre Pandemic Vaccine

PQ Parliamentary Question

or Post Qualification

PQASSO Practical Quality Assurance System for Small Organisations

PQQ Pre Qualification Questionnaire

PR Per rectum

or Public relations (the connection is obvious really)

PRA Preventing and Responding to Aggression

or Patient Referral Adviser

PRATFO Patient Reassured and Told to Fuck Off

PRB Pay Review Body

PRC Provisional Replacement Certificate

PRCC Principle & Rules for Cooperation & Competition

PRCSG Public Reassurance & Communication Strategic Group

PREP Post Registration Education and Practice

PREPP Post Registration Education and Preparation for Practice

PRG Public Reassurance Group

PRHO Pre-Registration House Officer

PRIAE Policy Research Institute on Ageing & Ethnicity

PRIMIS Primary Care Information Services

PRINCE Projects in Controlled Environments

PRLOG Pharmacy Regulator & Leadership Oversight Group

PRN pro re nata - As required (of medication)

PRO Public Record Office

PRODIGY Prescribing RatiOnally with Decision-support In General-practice studY

PROMS Patient Reported Outcome Measures

PRP Performance Related Pay

PRT Personal Risk Training

or Prison Reform Trust

PRTC Princess Royal Trust for Carers

PRU Police Resources Unit (part of Home Office)

PSA Prostate Specific Antigen

or Public Service Agreement

PS & RG Patient Safety & Risk Group

PSBR Public Sector Borrowing Requirement

PSC Public Sector Comparator

or Principals Sub Committee

PSD Professional Standards Directorate

PSFD Public Sector Financing Deficit

PSG Prescribing Strategy Group

PSHE Personal Social And Health Education

PSI Policy Studies Institute

PSL Period of Study Leave

or Plastic Sciences Laboratory

PSM Professions Supplementary to Medicine

PSNC Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee represents chemists in negotiations with the DOH

PSNCR Public Sector Net Cash Requirement

PSND Public Sector Net Deficit

PSNI Police Service of Northern Ireland

PSO Programme Support Officer

PSOP Provider Services Operational Plan

PSPP Public Sector Payments Policy

PSRCS Police Standard Radio Communication System

PSRG Public Safety Risk Group

PSS Personal Social Services

PSSRU Personal Social Services Research Unit

PST Patient Survey Training

PSU Prescribing Support Unit

or Professional Surgical Unit

PSX Public Service Expenditure

PT  Part Time

or Physiotherapy

or Phased Transition

Pt Patient

PTA Parent-Teachers Association

or Passenger Transport Authority

PTCA Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty - A balloon opening technique for opening partially blocked coronary arteries

PTE Passenger Transport Executive

PTL Priority Treatment List

PTS Patient transport service

or Plastic Trauma Services

PTSD Post Traumatic stress disorder

PTSED Planning, Transportation & Strategic Environment Deptartment

PU Prescribing Unit - developed to take account of elderly patients greater need for medication Patients over 65 count as 3 PUs and those under 65 as one

PV Per vagina

or Pemphigus Vulgaris

PVC Premature Ventricular Contraction

PVD Peripheral Vascular Disease

PVH Private & Voluntary Healthcare

PVIS Private, Voluntary, Independent Sector

PVL Panton Valentine Leukocidin

PVR Pulmonary Ventricular Resistance

PVS Persistent Vegetative State

PW Pressurized Water fire extinguisher

PWC Price Waterhouse Coopers, a firm of accountants

PWCB People With Challenging Behaviour

PWLB Public Works Loans Board

PWLD People with Learning Difficulties

PWSI Practitioner with Special Interest

Px Prescribing

PYE Part Year Effect

Q

Q-sign unresponsive person with mouth open and tongue hanging out

QA Quality Assurance

QAA Quality Assurance Authority

QALY Quality Adjusted Life Year

QC Quality Control

or Quick Connect

QCA Qualifications and Curriculum Authority

QDS Four Times Daily

qh quaque hora - every hour

QHT Quality Hygiene Training

QIPP Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention or

Quality Index for Predicted Proteins

ql quantim libet - as much as wanted

QMAS Quality Management & Analysis System

QMC Queen's Medical Centre

QNI Queen's Nursing Institute

QOF Quality and Outcomes Framework

QOL Quality of Life

or Quality Outcome Level

QP Quality Protects

QPP Quantum Property Partnership

QR Quick Release

qs quantum sufficiat - a sufficient quantity

QSW Qualified Social Worker

qv quod vide Latin for look up the reference

R

R&D   Research and Development

R&DC Rest and Day Care

R&S Recruitment and Selection

RA Research Associate

or Revenue Account

or Regional Assembly

or Rheumatoid arthritis

or Risk Assessment

RAC Resource & Activity Centre

RACPC Rapid Access Chest Pain Clinic

RAG Red Amber Green - much used by regulators who grown tired of stars.

RA(SG) Revenue Account (Specific Grants)

RADAR Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation

RADTZ Regional Assessment and Diagnostic Treatment Zone

RAE Research Assessment Exercise

RAG Resource Allocation Group

RAGE Radiotherapy Action Group Exposure

RAM Risk Allocation Matrix

RAO    Referral and Advice Officer - First point of contact for enquiries about Social Services Advice and basic information is also provided

RAP Recurrent Abdominal Pain

or Referrals, Assessments and Packages of Care in Adult Personal Social Services

RAPt Rehabilitation for Addicted Prisoners Trust

RARM Remote and Rural Medicine

RASP Resource Allocation and Service Planning

RAWG Risk Assessment Working Group

RAWP Resource Allocation Working Party

RAYNET Radio Amateurs’ Emergency Network

RB Representative Body

or Reserve Bidder

RBC Red Blood Corpuscle

rbe relative biological effectiveness

RBMS Referral Booking and Management System

RBP Retail Business Premises

RBS Record Based Strategy

RC Royal Colleges

or Respect Campaign

or Roman Catholic

RCA Royal College of Anaesthetists

or Root Cause Analysis

RCAT Root Cause Analysis Training

RCC Rural Community Council

RCCC Regional Civil Contingencies Committee

RCCO Revenue Contributions to Capital Outlay

RCCS Revenue Consequences of Capital Schemes

or Reid Clinical Classification System

RCOG Royal College of Gynaecologists

RCG Regional Compact Group

RCGP Royal College of General Practitioners

RCH Residential Care Home

RCHT Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust

RCM Royal College of Midwives

RCN    Royal College of Nursing - Union for nurses

RCO Refugee Community Organisations

RCOG Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology

RCOphth Royal College of Ophthalmologists

RCP Royal College of Physicians

RCPath Royal College of Pathologists

RCPCH Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health

RCPE Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh

RCPsych Royal College of Psychiatrists

RCR Royal College of Radiologists

RCS Royal College of Surgeons

or Retail Centre Survey

RCSLT Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists

RCT Randomised Control Trial

RCU Regional Co-ordination Unit

RDA Regional Development Agency

or Rural Development Area

RDBMS Relational Database Management System

RDC Rural District Council (obsolete except in former UK colonies)

or Rural Development Commission

RDF Resource Description Framework

RDN Resource Discovery Network

RDP Regional Development Programme

RDPGPE Regional Director of Postgraduate General Practice Education

RDPH Regional Director of Public Health

RDS Respiratory Distress Syndrome

RDSU Research and Development Support Unit

REA Regional Education Adviser

REACH Research and Education for Children in Asthma or

Retired Executives Action Clearing House

REAL Research, Education, Audit, Libraries

REC Racial Equality Council

or Research Ethics Committee

REDG Regional Education Development Group

Reg Registrar

REH    Royal Eye Hospital

or Royal Edinburgh Hospital

REIA Race Equality Impact Assessment

REN Race Equalities Network

RES Regional Economic Strategy

RFA Requirements for Accreditation of GP Systems

RFA4 National Accreditation standard for computers

RFAG Rural Fire Authorities' Group

RFC Request for Comment

RFDS Royal Flying Doctor Service

RFID Radio Frequency Identification Technology

RG Registrar-General

or Reference Group

RGB Red Green Blue

RGD Revenue Grants Distribution

RGD(RG) Revenue Grants Distribution (Review Group)

RGN Registered General Nurse

Rh Relative humidity

RHA    Regional Health Authority (obsolete)

RHB Regional Hospital Board (obsolete)

RHEPA Regional Health Emergency Planning Adviser

RHV Registered Health Visitor

RIBA Royal Institute of British Architects

RICS Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors

RIDDOR Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations

RIEP Regional Improvement Efficiency Partnership

RIF Right Iliac Fossa

rINN Recommended International Non-proprietary Name

RIPA Royal Institute of Public Administration

RIPHH Royal Institute of Public Health and Hygiene

RITA Record of In-Training Assessment

RIU Regulatory Impact Unit

RL Ringer's Lactate

RLAS Red Lights And Sirens

RLG NHS Regional Librarians Group

RLOS Reduced Length of Stay

RLQ Right Lower Quadrant

RLS Restless Legs Syndrome

RM Risk Management

RMA Refuse[s] Medical Assistance

RMC Referral Management Centre

RMCGC Risk Management & Clinical Governance Committee

RMCH Royal Manchester Children's Hospital

RMN Registered Mental Nurse

RMO Resident Medical Officer

or Responsible Medical Officer

RMS Referrals Management System

or Risk Management Strategy

or Recommended Minimum Standards

RMT Referral Management Tool

or Risk Management Training

RMWG Risk Management Working Group

RNA ribonucleic acid

RNCC Registered Nursing Care Contribution

RNF Relative Needs Formula

RNHRD Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases

RNIB Royal National Institute for the Blind

RNID Royal National Institute for Deaf People

RNLI Royal National Lifeboat Institution

RNMH Registered Nurse for the Mentally Handicapped

RNOH Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust

RNTNE Royal National Throat Nose and Ear Hospital

RO Regional Office

or Radio Officer

or Revenue Out-turn

ROC Return on Capital

or Retained Organs Commission (obs)

RoCE Return on Capital Employed

ROE Regional Office for Europe

ROM Range of Movement

ROS Return on Sale

ROSC Return of Spontaneous Circulation

ROSPA Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents

ROT Rule Of Thumb

ROTA Race on the Agenda

RoW Rights of Way or

Rights of Women

RP Reporting Party

RPAT Regional Patient Access Team

RPC Regional Planning Conference (often now part of Regional Assembly)

RPF renal plasma flow

or Rural Policing Fund

RPGD Regional Postgraduate Dean

RPGT Random Plasma Glucose Test

RPHTF Regional Prison Health Task Force

RPI Retail Price Index

RPIx underlying Retail Price Index (ie, excluding domestic mortgage costs)

RPPG Regional Policy Planning Guidance

RPSGB Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain

RPST Risk Pooling Scheme for Trusts

Rpt Repeat

RQ respiratory quotient

or Reportable Quantity

RR Relative Risk

or Risk Reduction

RRA Race Relations Act 1976

or Relatives & Residents Association

RRD Regional Resilience Director

RRF Regional Resilience Forum

RRMS Relaxing and Remitting Multiple Sclerosis

RRSG Reducing Re-offending Strategic Group

RRT Rapid Response Team

RRV Rapid Response Vehicle

RS respiratory system

or Rescue Squad

RSA Royal Society for Arts

RSC Royal Society of Chemistry

RSCG Regional Specialised Commissioning Group

RSCN Registered Sick Children's Nurse

RSD Reflex Sympathetic Disorder

RSG Revenue Support Grant formerly Rate Support Grant

RSH Royal Society of Health

RSI Repetitive Strain Injury

or Rapid Sequence Induction

or Rough Sleepers Initiative

RSIN Rural Stress Information Network

RSL Registered Social Landlord - a Housing Association or similar

RSM Royal Society of Medicine

RSN Real Soon Now - when computer applications will be delivered

RSP Rural Services Partnership

RSPCA Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

RSS Royal Statistical Society

or Regional Spatial Strategy

RSU Regional Secure Unit - for people who are considered dangerously mentally ill

or Rough Sleepers Unit

RSV Respiratory Syncytial Virus

RSVP Retired and Senior Volunteers Programme

RSW Residential Social Work

RT Radiotherapy

or reaction time (in neurophysiology)

Rt Right

RTA Road Traffic Accident

RTB Regional Training Board

RTF Regional Task Force

or Rich Text Format

RTI Respiratory Tract Infection

RTIA Receipts Taken Into Account (part of capital control framework)

RTM Right To Manage

RTP Rural Transport Partnership

RTPI Royal Town Planning Institute

RTT Referral to Treatment

RUH Royal United Hospitals Bath

RUM Resource Utilisation Management

RUMIS Resource Utilisation Management Incentive Scheme

RUQ Right Upper quadrant (of the torso)

RVI Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle

RVSN Regional Voluntary Sector Network

RWG Risk Working Group

Rx Prescription drugs

RxList Internet Drug Index