The Commission for Health Improvement published the performance indicators that would be used to performance rate National Health Service trusts in England in 2003-04. Primary care trusts expressed disappointment that the indicators largely failed to examine the potential added value of primary care trusts in re-designing services, engaging clinicians and involving local people in decisions about healthcare services: rather than helping to improve the NHS, the indicators would encourage 'gaming and bureaucracy'.
Source: Press release 18 December 2003, Commission for Health Improvement (020 7448 9200) | Press release 19 December 2003, NHS Alliance (01777 869080)
Links: CHI press release | Links to indicators | NHS Alliance press release
Date: 2003-Dec
The government began consultation on reforms to the National Health Service complaints procedure, designed to make the system more accessible and responsive to patients' needs. The Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection would provide independent review of complaints referred to them by complainants who were unhappy with the response made by the NHS locally; patients would have a choice about the way they made a complaint about primary care services - either direct to the practitioner, or to the primary care trust if they preferred not to approach their family doctor directly; the time limit for making a complaint would be extended from 6 months to a year; and there would be improved liaison between services - NHS organisations and primary care practitioners would have a duty to work together when investigating complaints that concerned multiple services, so that complainants received a single, comprehensive response.
Source: The National Health Service (Complaints) Regulations, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Draft regulations (pdf) | Consultation letter (pdf) | DH press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Dec
A new book discussed the issues raised by the government s reform proposals in respect of National Health Service clinical negligence cases; outlined how these proposals could be made more effective, by ensuring a link between safety systems and compensation mechanisms; and set out the case for the NHS to move towards an administrative system of liability based on preventability in effect a modified no-fault approach.
Source: Adrian Towse, Paul Fenn, Alastair Grey, Neil Rickman and Rodrigo Salinas, Reducing Harm to Patients in the National Health Service: Will the government's compensation proposals help?, Office of Health Economics (020 7930 9203)
Links: Briefing (pdf)
Date: 2003-Dec
A paper set out the issues involved in attempting to improve Scotland's relatively poor performance on health.
Source: Andrew Lyon, The Fifth Wave: Searching for health In Scotland, Scottish Council Foundation (0131 225 4709)
Links: Summary
Date: 2003-Dec
A report by the Chief Executive of the National Health Service catalogued increases in different areas of activity within the service during 2003. It said the capacity to treat more patients was growing as more staff were appointed and new services and facilities came on line. A performance report for the Department of Health (issued as an annex to the Chief Executive's report) listed progress in 2003 against public service agreement targets.
Source: The Chief Executive's Report to the NHS December 2003, Department of Health (08701 555455) | Autumn Performance Report 2003, Cm 6073, Department of Health, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report (pdf) | Statistical supplement (pdf) | Autumn performance report (pdf) | DH press release | NHS Confederation press release
Date: 2003-Dec
The 20th edition of British Social Attitudes was published. Support for raising taxes to spend more on health, education and social benefits was found to have nearly doubled over the period 1983-2003, from 32 per cent to 63 per cent: but young people were increasingly less supportive of the welfare state than their elders. People were less satisfied with the National Health Service than they were in 1983. People felt that there should be more students from working-class backgrounds in higher education. Attitudes towards working mothers had become more positive, and racial prejudice had gradually declined. (The survey has been conducted annually since 1983. Each survey consists of over 3,000 interviews with a representative, random sample of people in Great Britain.)
Source: Alison Park, John Curtice, Katarina Thomson, Lindsey Jarvis, and Catherine Bromley (eds.), British Social Attitudes: The 20th Report, SAGE Publications Ltd (020 7324 8500)
Links: NatCen press release (pdf) | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2)
Date: 2003-Dec
The Commission for Health Improvement published the results of three surveys of National Health Service patients in 2003.
Source: Accident and Emergency (A&E): Patient survey 2003, Commission for Health Improvement (020 7448 9200) | Outpatients: Patient survey 2003, Commission for Health Improvement | Local Health Services: Patient survey 2003, Commission for Health Improvement
Links: A&E survey (pdf) | Outpatients survey (pdf) | Local patients (pdf)
Date: 2003-Dec
The number of English residents waiting over one year for National Health Service treatment at the end of September 2003 was 114, 99.5 per cent lower than a year earlier. A total of 48 English residents had been waiting over 15 months. The total number of patients waiting to be admitted to NHS hospitals in England at the end of September 2003 was 973,600, 7.1 per cent lower than a year earlier, and the lowest level since September 1992.
Source: NHS Inpatient Waiting List Figures: 30 September 2003, Statistical press notice 14 November 2003, Department of Health (020 7210 4850)
Links: DH press release
Date: 2003-Nov
An independent report recorded improvements in perioperative safety, including a fall in the number of night-time emergency operations by junior doctors. But patients in nearly half of all emergency night-time operations were anaesthetised by trainees.
Source: Who Operates When II?, National Confidential Enquiry into Perioperative Deaths (020 7920 0999)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | DH press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Nov
Statistics were published on survival rates for cancers of the lung, breast (in women), colon and prostate for adult patients in England and Wales diagnosed during 1991-99 and followed up to 31 December 2001. Five-year age-standardised relative survival rates were given for adult patients (aged 15-99 years) diagnosed with cancer during 1991-95 and 1996-99. There was a significantly increased survival rate for all types of cancer. The government also published a progress report on the National Health Service cancer plan, launched in 2000. But the government announced an inquiry into why cancer patients in some areas could get expensive drugs, but not in others.
Source: Cancer Survival: England and Wales, 1991-2001, Office for National Statistics (0845 601 3034) | The NHS Cancer Plan: Three year progress report - Maintaining the momentum, Department of Health (08701 555455) | Press release 28 October 2003, Department of Health (020 7210 4850)
Links: ONS press release (pdf) | Link to table | Progress report (pdf) | DH press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Oct
A paper examined the relationship between the performance of National Health Service hospitals in England and the quality of their nursing staff. Performance ratings of NHS trusts published in 2001 and 2002 indicated a clear regional divide, which was not explained by variations in medical need. The gap between wages in the private and public sector (the 'private sector premium') had a regional divide similar to that of the performance ratings. It was found that performance against several of the individual targets that were aggregated into the NHS performance ratings was negatively associated with the private sector premium, suggesting that relatively poor performance might be explained by difficulties in recruiting the quantity and/or quality of nursing staff needed.
Source: Simon Burgess, Denise Gossage and Carol Propper, Explaining Differences in Hospital Performance: Does the answer lie in the labour market?, Working Paper 03/091, Centre for Market and Public Organisation/University of Bristol (0117 954 6943)
Links: Paper (pdf)
Date: 2003-Oct
A think-tank report said that the National Institute for Clinical Excellence was in danger of failing to achieve any of its key objectives - speeding up access to new technologies, promoting effective use of National Health Services resources, and guaranteeing equitable access to treatments of proven clinical and cost effectiveness.
Source: Ben Irvine and Mark Jones, NICE or NASTY: Has NICE eliminated the 'postcode lottery' in the NHS?, Civitas (020 7401 5470)
Links: Report (pdf) | Civitas press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Sep
A committee of MPs said that levels of delayed discharge had been reduced significantly since 1997: but some acute hospitals were still not implementing best practice for discharging patients, and there were still too many older people waiting longer in hospital than necessary. They said that involving patients and their relatives and carers in discharge decisions was crucial for timely and appropriate discharge; and that a long-term solution to delayed discharges would only be achieved through private and public sector partners working together.
Source: Ensuring the Effective Discharge of Older Patients from NHS Acute Hospitals, Thirty-third Report (Session 2002-03), HC 459, House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Age Concern press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Sep
The government began consultation on proposals to relax (on clinical grounds) the 4-hour maximum time between arrival and discharge for patients in hospital accident and emergency departments.
Source: Clinical Exceptions to the Four Hour Emergency Care Target, Department of Health (08701 555455) | House of Commons Hansard, Written Answers 17 September 2003, column 838W, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Consultation document (pdf) | Hansard | Observer report
Date: 2003-Sep
An annual compendium of health statistics showed that the United Kingdom was no longer the 'sick man' of Europe. Compared to other European Union countries and the United States of America, mortality rates among the four biggest killer diseases (coronary heart disease, stroke, breast cancer and lung cancer) were falling 'dramatically'. The UK's performance was particularly noteworthy in comparison to France, the leading healthcare system in the world according to the World Health Organisation in 2000.
Source: Compendium of Health Statistics: 15th edition, 2003-2004, Office of Health Economics (020 7930 9203)
Links: OHE press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Sep
The government introduced (on 1 September 2003) an independent complaints advocacy service in England, designed to assist individuals making complaints against the National Health Service (as provided for under the Health and Social Care Act 2001).
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 17 July 2003, columns 72-73WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard
Date: 2003-Sep
The National Audit Office said that clinical governance had made early progress and was already delivering benefits: but progress in implementing the initiative was patchy, varying between and within National Health Service trusts and between the components of the initiative. (Clinical governance is a major initiative, first proposed in 1997, to secure better quality care by the NHS and improve patients confidence in its services.)
Source: Achieving Improvements through Clinical Governance: Progress report on implementation by NHS trusts, HC 1055, (Session 2002-03), National Audit Office, TSO (0870 600 5522) | Kieran Walshe, Penny Cortvriend and Ann Mahon, The Implementation of Clinical Governance: Survey of NHS trusts in England, National Audit Office (020 7798 7000) | Tim Freeman, Kieran Walshe and Peter Spurgeon, A Survey of Trust Managers' Views for the National Audit Office, National Audit Office
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | Survey of NHS trusts (pdf) | Survey of trust managers (pdf) | NAO press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Sep
The number of English residents waiting over one year for National Health Service treatment at the end of June 2003 was 34, compared to 20,500 a year earlier. The total number of patients waiting to be admitted to NHS hospitals in England at the end of June 2003 was 992,600, 5.9 per cent lower than a year earlier.
Source: NHS Waiting List Figures: 30 June 2003, Statistical press notice 15.8.03, Department of Health (020 7210 4850)
Links: DH press release
Date: 2003-Aug
Researchers said that publishing the performance of individual surgeons using crude figures on death rates (as planned by the government) could be misleading, and was not in the best interests of patients.
Source: Ben Bridgewater et al., 'Surgeon specific mortality in adult cardiac surgery: comparison between crude and risk stratified data', British Medical Journal 5.7.03
Links: Article | BMJ press release
Date: 2003-Jul
The results were published of patient surveys for National Health Service trusts (England, 2002-03). The independent health watchdog said the reports showed that patients 'typically have confidence and trust in the health professionals treating them, and that staff listen to what they have to say': but also that patients were critical of the information they got about the side effects of medicines, the risks and benefits of treatment, who to contact if they were worried about their condition, and how long they would need to wait for appointments. The government was earlier criticised for allegedly delaying publication of the survey results for 2001-02.
Source: National Patients Survey Programme: 2003 Results, Commission for Health Improvement (web publication only) | Press release 30.7.03, Commission for Health Improvement (020 7448 9200) | The Guardian, 19.7.03
Links: Survey results | CHI press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Jul
The Northern Ireland Executive published the first survey of its kind examining public attitudes to health and social services. It was found that 74 per cent of people were satisfied with the level of service they were receiving. 81 per cent had used a family doctor service, and 47 per cent had required the services of a hospital, in the 12 months prior to being surveyed.
Source: Public Consultation Survey to Inform the DHSSPS Regional Strategy on Health and Social Wellbeing, Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety/Northern Ireland Executive (028 9052 0500)
Links: Report (pdf) | a href="http://www.northernireland.gov.uk/press/hss/030710c-hss.htm">NIE press release
Date: 2003-Jul
For the first time, every National Health Service trust in England received a full performance rating by the independent health watchdog. The best performers were awarded a maximum of three stars, while the poorest performers received no stars. Hospital trusts showed an overall improvement compared to the previous year. Campaigners described the improved results apparently shown by mental health trusts as 'astonishing'.
Source: NHS Performance Ratings: Acute Trusts, Specialist Trusts, Ambulance Trusts - 2002/2003, Commission for Health Improvement, TSO (0870 600 5522) | NHS Performance Ratings: Primary Care Trusts, Mental Health Trusts, Learning Disability Trusts 2002/2003, Commission for Health Improvement, TSO | Press release 16.07.03, Rethink (formerly National Schizophrenia Fellowship) (020 7330 9100)
Links: Acute trusts etc. summary (pdf) | PCTs etc. summary (pdf) | CHI ratings page | CHI press release | Rethink press release
Date: 2003-Jul
An official report summarised action taken to reduce or remove unnecessary or bureaucratic burdens in the National Health Service caused by inspection, accreditation and audit.
Source: Making a Difference: Reducing burdens in healthcare inspection and monitoring, Cabinet Office (020 7276 2194) and Department of Health
Links: Report (pdf) | NHS Alliance press release
Date: 2003-Jul
The independent health watchdog published its annual report for 2002-03. It said that it had met or exceeded each of the 14 key targets in its business plan.
Source: Delivering Improvement: Annual report 2002/2003, Commission for Health Improvement (020 7448 9200)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2003-Jul
A survey found that 90 per cent of National Health Service staff had blown the whistle when they had a concern about patient safety: but only half of these said their concern had been dealt with reasonably.
Source: Is Whistleblowing Working in the NHS?, Public Concern at Work (020 7404 6609) and UNISON
Links: Report | Report (pdf)
Date: 2003-Jun
An audit report said there were unexplained variations between hospitals in the efficiency and effectiveness with which they delivered services, and that some trusts could improve services significantly within their existing resources. It also warned that the proposed 'foundation' hospitals could put public money at risk without stricter management controls.
Source: Acute Hospital Portfolio Reviews 2003, Audit Commission (0800 502030)
Links: Report (pdf) | Audit Commission press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Jun
A survey found that although most hospitals met the government's target for a maximum 4-hour wait in accident and emergency departments during the monitoring period (week ended 31 March 2003), the numbers fell dramatically the following week. A third of the doctors surveyed did not believe that the figures the government published for their department were accurate. The majority of respondents felt that the measures taken to meet the target had distorted clinical priorities.
Source: BMA Survey of A&E Waiting Times, British Medical Association (020 7383 6244)
Links: Report (pdf) | BMA press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Jun
The government's chief medical officer published a consultation document intended to 'fundamentally reform' the handling of clinical negligence cases by the National Health Service - including the establishment of a 'redress scheme' to speed up the process and offer care and compensation under certain circumstances without the necessity to go to court.
Source: Making Amends, Chief Medical Officer/Department of Health (08701 555455) | House of Commons Hansard, Written Answers 30.6.03, columns 158-160W, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Consultation document (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | DH press release | Hansard | Law Society press release | BMA press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Jun
The health service ombudsman for England said that a record 3,994 complaints had been received in 2002-03, a considerable increase over the 2,660 received in 2001-02. She said this was almost entirely due to the number of complaints about National Health Service funding for the continuing care of elderly and disabled people, received in the wake of her report on the subject in February 2003.
Source: Annual Report 2002-03, HC 760, Health Service Ombudsman for England, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report (pdf) | Report | Ombudsman press release | Age Concern press release | February 2003 Report (pdf)
Date: 2003-Jun
Date: 2003-Jun
A new health watchdog in Scotland published its first report. It said progress was being made in establishing systems that made sure patients received the highest quality of care: but no National Health Service trust in Scotland was able to achieve the top assessment category for any of the standards assessed.
Source: Safe and Effective Patient Care: Generic clinical governance standards - National overview, NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (0131 623 4300)
Links: Report (pdf) | Press release
Date: 2003-May
The number of people resident in England waiting over one year for National Health Service treatment at the end of March 2003 was 21,800 (99.7 per cent) lower than a year earlier. A total of 11 English residents had been waiting over 15 months. The total number of patients waiting to be admitted to NHS hospitals in England at the end of March 2003 was 992,000, 4.2 per cent lower than a year earlier (and the lowest figure in over a decade). 92.9 per cent of people attending hospital accident and emergency departments spent less than four hours before being admitted or treated and discharged, compared with 77.2 per cent a year before: this achieved the government's 90 per cent target, but only in the final week of March, when many hospitals reportedly cancelled other work and brought in agency staff to cut queues. The BMA said it was 'immoral' of the government to use the figures to claim standards were improving.
Source: NHS Inpatient Waiting List Figures: 31 March 2003, Statistical press notice 16.5.03, Department of Health (020 7210 4850) | Press release 14.5.03, British Medical Association (020 7387 4499)
Links: DH press release | Guardian report | BMA press release
Date: 2003-May
The independent National Health Service watchdog reported that patient care in health services in England and Wales was improving. It said that national standards had led to better and more consistent care, that investment in new and existing premises had made a difference to the environment in which patients were treated, and that modern equipment was far more widely available than ten years previously. But it also warned that health service managers were being overburdened by new initiatives.
Source: Getting Better? Report on the NHS, Commission for Health Improvement, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | CHI press release | NHS Confederation press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-May
The Community Care (Delayed Discharges etc.) Bill received Royal assent. The new Act was aimed at creating a 'strong financial incentive' for local authorities to assess individuals who were in hospital, and make provision for any community care services they may need, as quickly as possible.
Source: Community Care (Delayed Discharges etc.) Act, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Text of Act
Date: 2003-Apr
The government published the first part of a 'National Service Framework' for children, young people and maternity services. This included a standards document for hospitals and a consultation document on the 'direction of travel' for the whole NSF and what the practical implications of the NSF were likely to be. (The NSF would set national standards aimed at improving the quality of care and reducing unacceptable variations in health and social services.)
Source: Standard for Hospital Services, Department of Health (08701 555455) | The NSF Emerging Findings, Department of Health
Links: Hospital standards (pdf) | RCPCH press release (pdf)
Date: 2003-Apr
An annual report found significant improvements in National Health Service performance since publication of the NHS Plan in 2001. But the report said sustained investment is still required to complete the 10-year plan.
Source: The NHS Plan: Progress report - NHS Modernisation Board's Annual Report 2003, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | NHS press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Mar
Audit spot checks revealed widespread inaccuracies in the reporting of information on waiting lists, and 3 cases (out of 41 trusts) of deliberate misreporting.
Source: Waiting List Accuracy: Assessing the accuracy of waiting list information in NHS hospitals in England, Audit Commission (0800 502030)
Links: Report (pdf) | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Mar
A government report said that more older people than ever before were getting crucial treatment since the launch of the 'national service framework' for older people. It said there had been a two-thirds increase in the number of people over 85 receiving heart bypasses between 2000 and 2002; that new intermediate care services benefited around 100,000 people in the same period; that around three-quarters of all hospitals had specialist multi-disciplinary teams for older people; and that the proportion of patients aged 75 and over delayed in leaving hospital had fallen from 13 per cent to 8.9 per cent.
Source: National Service Framework for Older People: Report of Progress and Future Challenges - 2003, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Report (pdf) | Press release
Date: 2003-Mar
Researchers found that the overall standard of healthcare for elderly people was inadequate when judged against quality indicators, irrespective of where patients live. Those living in nursing homes received poorer care than those living at home.
Source: Tom Fahey, Alan Montgomery, James Barnes and Jo Protheroe, 'Quality of care for elderly residents in nursing homes and elderly people living at home: controlled observational study', British Medical Journal 15.3.03
Links: Article | HTA press release
Date: 2003-Mar
The government announced the publication of final 2002-03 performance indicators for mental health and primary care trusts, which will be used to assess these organisations and calculate (for the first time) their 'star rating'.
Source: Press release 31.3.03, Department of Health (020 7210 4850)
Links: DH press release | Performance indicators
Date: 2003-Mar
The new Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection would take over responsibility from National Health Service trusts and primary care trusts for independent reviews of complaints, under reform plans published by the government.
Source: NHS Complaints Reform: Making things right, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Report (pdf) | DH press release
Date: 2003-Mar
The National Audit Office reported that outstanding clinical negligence claims against the National Health Service rose from 4.4 billion in March 2001 to 5.25 billion in March 2002 - an increase of 19.3 per cent.
Source: NHS (England) Summarised Accounts 2001-02, HC 493 (Session 2002-03), National Audit Office, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report (pdf) | Press release
Date: 2003-Mar
The number of English residents waiting over one year for National Health Service treatment at the end of December 2002 was 10,900, 65.3 per cent lower than a year earlier. A total of just five English residents had been waiting over 15 months. The total number of patients waiting to be admitted to NHS hospitals in England at the end of December 2002 was 1,057,000, 0.6 per cent higher than a year earlier.
Source: NHS Inpatient Waiting List Figures: 31 December 2002, Statistical press notice 14.2.03, Department of Health (020 7210 4850)
Links: Statistical press release
Date: 2003-Feb
A report aimed to stimulate discussion around greater openness and improved patient safety in the National Health Service, by supporting and encouraging system-wide accountability, rather than focusing on individual blame.
Source: Creating the Virtuous Circle: Patient safety, accountability and an open and fair culture, NHS Confederation (020 7959 7272) and National Patient Safety Agency
Links: NHS Confed press release
Date: 2003-Feb
An audit report said that good progress is being made in ensuring that older people who have finished treatment in acute hospitals are discharged promptly. But it said that more needs to be done to meet the government s target to end widespread delays in patient discharge by 2004. The shortage of places in care homes was found to be the most significant constraint on meeting that target.
Source: Ensuring the Effective Discharge of Older Patients from NHS Acute Hospitals, HC 392 (Session 2002-03), National Audit Office, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | NAO press release | LGA press release
Date: 2003-Feb
The House of Lords voted to delay implementation of the Community Care (Delayed Discharges etc.) Bill for a year - a move welcomed by local authorities. The government reportedly said it would propose a delay of six months to allow for a further 'preparation period', before implementation from 1 October 2003.
Source: House of Lords Hansard, Debate 17.2.03, columns 985-1010, TSO (0870 600 5522) | Press release 18.2.03, Local Government Association (020 7664 3000) | Community Care, 18.2.03
Links: HOL Hansard | LGA press release | Community Care article
Date: 2003-Feb
The government began consultation on draft regulations relating to the Community Care (Delayed Discharges etc.) Bill, which seeks to introduce a system of reimbursement around discharge from hospital and to remove local authorities' powers to charge for intermediate care and certain community equipment services. Doctors called the plans 'untimely'.
Source: The Delayed Discharges (England) Regulations 2003, Department of Health (08701 555455) | Press release 17.2.03, British Medical Association (020 7387 4499)
Links: Text of Bill | BMA press release
Date: 2003-Feb
The Community Care (Delayed Discharges etc.) Bill had its third reading. The Bill is aimed at creating a 'strong financial incentive' for local authorities to assess individuals who are in hospital, and make provision for any community care services they may need, as quickly as possible.
Source: Community Care (Delayed Discharges etc.) Bill (2002), Department of Health, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 15.1.03, columns 717-790, TSO
Links: Hansard | Text of Bill
Date: 2003-Jan
Researchers found that between half and four-fifths of the number of patients waiting six months or longer for treatment are accounted for by just a quarter of hospital trusts. They also found little evidence to show that measures of capacity (such as beds, operating theatres or doctors) are associated with prolonged waiting.
Source: Richard Martin et al., 'NHS waiting lists and evidence of national or local failure: analysis of health service data', British Medical Journal 25.1.03
Links: Article
Date: 2003-Jan
A new 100 million fund was launched, designed to improve patient access to key hospital services. The fund will offer rewards to National Health Service trusts, primary care trusts and their staff who make rapid progress in improving access to services for patients, including reducing waiting times in accident and emergency departments and for planned operations and outpatient clinics. The scheme will be introduced in all Strategic Health Authority areas from 2003-04 and will operate for three years.
Source: Press release 8.1.03, Department of Health (020 7210 4850)
Links: DH press release
Date: 2003-Jan
The government published a joint statement of purpose which set out the functions of two new inspectorates (the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection and the Commission for Social Care Inspection) designed to promote improvements in health and social care services, together with the government's reasoning for setting them up and the programme of work to establish them.
Source: Statement of Purpose: The Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (CHAI) and the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI), Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Statement (pdf) | Summary | DH press release
See also: Journal of Social Policy Volume 31/4, Digest 124, paragraph 2.1
Date: 2003-Jan
A report offered a critique of the government's reimbursement proposals in respect of delayed discharge of patients from hospital. It set out an alternative approach, that recognises the complex issues underlying delayed discharges. It said that the best way to reduce delays is through partnership, within a framework that recognises the integration of the whole health and social care system.
Source: A Whole in One: The whole systems approach to delayed discharges, Local Government Association (020 7664 3000)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2003-Jan