THE NHS body which organises community health provision in Waltham Forest is one of the worst in the country, according to a new league table.

The borough’s primary care trust, also known as NHS Waltham Forest, was criticised heavily following an assessment of its strategies for making sure patients receive quality care.

The PCT came 11th from bottom of the national table, which used analysis of the body’s policies, finances, leadership and general competency.

In the Health Service Journal, which compiled the league table, Mark Britnell, the NHS director for commissioning, warned that failing PCTs would receive ‘directed development’.

He also said that the private sector could be used to “accelerate improvement”.

However, Waltham Forest PCT have argued that the league table does not show "the whole picture".

The assessment awarded the lowest possible rating for finance because of the PCT’s deficit in 2006 and small surplus the following year. The board was also criticised for a lack of plans to tackle financial problems.

The board was described as going through a “period of transition” because several expensive interim appointments had been made.

The review found little evidence of effective “performance management” and it was unclear how the board scrutinised PCT strategy.

The Board was viewed as having a lack of general clarity, including over the opening of its first polyclinic.

The PCT’s strategy is “sound”, but its vision needs to be communicated more simply and clearly, the assessment found.

In it's overview, however, the panel said that the PCT is "highly aspirational and motivated and demonstrates strong drive and desire to deliver with pace".

A new review of how health services will be structured in Waltham Forest and across north east London is due to start in June.

Waltham Forest PCT chief executive, Sally Gorham, said: “Obviously we are very disappointed with our overall scores and don’t feel that they reflect the quality of the services we commission.

"This first round of World Class Commissioning was intended to be a dry run, to enable us to establish an accurate baseline and to enable PCTs to develop their processes for future years.

"NHS Waltham Forest will not be complacent and is determined to take a pro-active approach and learn from our first experience of World Class Commissioning.

"We have already set up an Improvement Board which will look at how we can ensure that the excellent health initiatives which take place in Waltham Forest are reflected in our scores, and how we can improve our performance so that we can truly say we are World Class Commissioners.

"We have also learned important lessons about the need to provide adequate evidence of all the good work which is taking place in local health services.

"While our ‘league table’ performance and overall scores are very disappointing it’s important not to lose sight of the positive feedback which we received from our World Class Commissioning assessors."