Specialised services are not provided by every hospital, and tend to be found in larger hospitals based in big towns and cities. Examples of specialised services include renal services (such as kidney transplant and kidney dialysis), blood and marrow transplantation, morbid obesity surgery and services for patients with cystic fibrosis.

Specialised services are identified in more detail in the Specialised Services National Definitions Set, last published by the Department of Health (DH) in 2002 and currently being updated. It is estimated that specialised services account for about 10% of total PCT expenditure on hospital services.

NHS Rotherham commissions Specialised services through the Yorkshire and Humber region’s Specialised Commissioning Group, which is made up of the fourteen NHS Primary Care Trusts in the region.