Central Surrey Health is a not-for-profit, limited liability company under contract to provide community nursing and therapy services on behalf of the East Elmbridge and Mid Surrey Primary Care Trust. The contract is similar to those held by GP surgeries (a specialist medical services contract).

In January 2005, the East Elmbridge and Mid Surrey Primary Care Trust (PCT) began to review the options for the future provision of nursing and therapy services in mid-Surrey. The review covered nursing and therapy staff working in the community, in patients' homes, in community hospitals and in acute hospital teams. The review took place against a background of important national developments.

Developing government policy suggested a change in the balance of PCTs' activity away from providing services themselves towards commissioning more services from a wide range of other providers including organisations in the public, private, voluntary, charitable and not-for-profit sectors. At the same time, the Department of Health encouraged the development of more treatment and therapy services in or close to patients' homes.

The review examined all possible options including models such as care trusts, community trusts, children's trusts, partnership arrangements with local GPs and private sector companies. The review demonstrated that patients in this area would be best served through the establishment of a not-for-profit, limited liability company owned by (and employing) local nurses and therapists. This approach, coupled with a commitment to organisational investment in the community, is sometimes referred to as a social enterprise model.

An Outline Business Case was presented to the PCT Board in July 2005 where it received support in principle. After three months operating in shadow form within the PCT, Central Surrey Health was formally established on 1 October 2006.

This has been a long journey with many challenges. Central Surrey Health is the first organisation of its kind, so in many ways the blueprints have been drawn up around it. It has managed to draw on all the talents of therapists and nurses to develop an organisation which will be more suited to the challenges ahead. These challenges will be met with clarity of vision and huge commitment.

Central Surrey Health employs around 650 staff who formerly delivered community nursing and therapy services from within the PCT. They are:

• district nurses
• community hospital nurses
• school nurses
• specialist nurses
• health visitors
• nursery nurses
• physiotherapists
• podiatrists
• dieticians
• speech and language therapists
• occupational therapists
• support and administrative assistants

Selima was chosen by CSH to provide a fully managed payroll service in the early part of 2007. Since then Selima has provided CSH with this service utilising the EnvoyHR and e-forms software, as well as providing EnvoyCentral which allows Selima staff to process mileage and expenses claims on behalf of CSH.