The fertilization/embryology watchdog analyzed the performance of clinics offering IVF and donor insemination. 80 per cent of clinics providing fertility treatment broadly met 79 per cent of the standards set. But there were problems related to the provision of information to patients; inadequate counselling; and obtaining properly informed consent.
Source: Driving Improvement: Lessons from the UK s fertility sector 2005-06, Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (020 7377 5077)
Links: Report | HFEA press release | BBC report
Date: 2006-Dec
An article said that hospital reporting systems might significantly under-report patient safety incidents, particularly those resulting in harm.
Source: Ali Baba-Akbari Sari, Trevor Sheldon, Alison Cracknell and Alastair Turnbull, 'Sensitivity of routine system for reporting patient safety incidents in an NHS hospital: retrospective patient case note review', British Medical Journal (online first), 15 December 2006
Links: Article | Abstract | BBC report
Date: 2006-Dec
A report examined the organizational arrangements that supported patient safety in the National Health Service. It made proposals designed to make it quicker and easier for staff to report incidents, and to ensure that local trusts had a stronger focus on patient safety.
Source: Safety First: A report for patients, clinicians and healthcare managers, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Report | DH press release | Hansard | NPSA press release | CHAI/NTA press release | BBC report
Date: 2006-Dec
The Department of Health published its 2006 autumn performance report, detailing progress being made towards its public sector agreement targets.
Source: Autumn Performance Report 2006, Cm 6985, Department of Health, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Dec
A report said that although expenditure on drugs, staff, salaries, and training might have increased, the additional £6 billion per year being spent on healthcare was unlikely to transform the National Health Service.
Source: Stephen Martin, Peter Smith and Sheila Leatherman, Value for Money in the English NHS: Summary of the evidence, Health Foundation (020 7257 8000)
Links: Report | Health Foundation press release
Date: 2006-Dec
The healthcare inspectorate for Wales published its annual report for 2005-06.
Source: Annual Report 2005-2006, Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (029 2092 8850)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Nov
The NHS Redress Act 2006 was given Royal assent, after MPs rejected a late amendment proposed by the House of Lords (designed to strengthen the independence of the redress procedures). The Act overhauled the compensation regime for cases where National Health Service treatment had gone wrong.
Source: NHS Redress Act 2006, Department of Health, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Text of Act | Hansard | HOC brief
Date: 2006-Nov
The government began consultation on the regulation of health and adult social care in England. The Commission for Social Care Inspection would merge with the Healthcare Commission and Mental Health Act Commission to form a single regulator by 2008.
Source: The Future Regulation of Health and Adult Social Care in England, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Consultation document | CHAI press release | Monitor press release | Community Care report
Date: 2006-Nov
The healthcare inspectorate published an analysis of four surveys of National Health Service patients and service users, conducted during 2004-05. Older people tended to have a more positive experience of the NHS than younger users. People from black and minority ethnic groups were more likely than white service users to report negative experiences for some questions.
Source: Variations in the Experiences of Patients Using the NHS Services in England, Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (020 7448 9200)
Links: Report | CHAI press release | Community Care report
Date: 2006-Nov
The number of written complaints received by frontline National Health Service trusts in England rose by more than 5 per cent during 2005-06. 95,047 complaints were registered during the year, compared with 90,413 during the previous year.
Source: Press release 15 November 2006, NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre (0845 300 6016)
Links: HSCIC press release | BBC report
Date: 2006-Nov
The healthcare inspectorate called on the National Health Service to step up efforts to improve the management of admissions to hospital. It said that NHS trusts had delivered a series of significant improvements, with fewer delays in accident and emergency departments, and reduced lengths of stay for people admitted for surgical procedures from the waiting list. But trusts could improve further - by tackling delays further into patients? hospital stays, and giving patients admitted from the waiting list more choice over admission dates.
Source: Acute Hospital Portfolio Review: Management of Admission in Acute Hospitals - Review of the national findings 2006, Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (020 7448 9200)
Links: Report | CHAI press release
Date: 2006-Oct
The healthcare inspectorate published its annual report on the state of healthcare in England and Wales. It included, for the first time, a view of performance in meeting the minimum standards required by law of the private healthcare sector in England. It said that healthcare was improving: there were significant reductions in waiting times, including for care in accident/emergency and for outpatient appointments. The quality of care was also getting better. But it called for a drive to improve the safety of patients in both the NHS and the private sector; for more attention to services for people least able to look after themselves, including those with learning disabilities and mental health conditions; and for more action to ensure that people were treated with dignity and respect, and got better information about their care. Only 50 per cent of private hospitals and clinics in England and Wales met all the required minimum standards when they were inspected in the 2005-06 period, compared with 49 per cent of National Health Service trusts.
Source: State of Healthcare 2006, Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (020 7448 9200)
Links: Report | CHAI press release | Rethink press release | Kings Fund press release | NPSA press release | Mencap press release | Community Care report | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Oct
An article examined the relationship between the performance of National Health Service primary care trusts in England, as measured by 'star ratings' and nine key performance targets, and a large number of explanatory variables. It was found that the star ratings did not allow for the different environmental circumstances within which PCTs operated, and which affected their performance.
Source: Rowena Jacobs, Stephen Martin, Maria Goddard, Hugh Gravelle and Peter Smith, 'Exploring the determinants of NHS performance ratings: lessons for performance assessment systems', Journal of Health Services Research and Policy, Volume 11 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Oct
A set of indicators was published showing performance by each National Health Service trust across a number of key efficiency and productivity indicators. They indicated that significant benefits to patients could be delivered if trusts learnt from best practice, as well as the release of resources worth £2.2 billion.
Source: NHS Better Care, Better Value Indicators, NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement (0800 555 550)
Links: Indicators | NHS Institute press release | DH press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Oct
The healthcare inspectorate published the results of its first annual 'health check', which had replaced star ratings as the system for assessing the National Health Service. It rated 570 NHS trusts in England on a four-point scale from 'excellent' to 'weak' for both quality of services and use of resources. About half of all trusts were ?fair? - meaning there were areas where they needed to improve.
Source: Results of the Annual Health Check in 2005/2006, Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (020 7448 9200)
Links: Report | CHAI press release (1) | CHAI press release (2) | CHAI press release (3) | CHAI press release (4) | DH press release | RCGP press release | Kings Fund press release | DHN press release | Health Foundation press release | Monitor press release | NHS Employers press release | Age Concern press release | Consumer Association press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Oct
A report examined why the public thought the National Health Service was in crisis, yet patients consistently reported high levels of satisfaction with the care they received.
Source: Nigel Edwards, Lost in Translation: Why are patients more satisfied with the NHS than the public?, NHS Confederation (020 7959 7272)
Links: Report | NHS Confederation press release
Date: 2006-Sep
A statistical report said that family doctors in England provided higher quality services, and a wider range of services, to patients in 2005-06. On average, practices achieved 96 per cent of available points compared with 91 per cent in 2004-05. 1 in 10 practices achieved top marks.
Source: National Quality and Outcomes Framework: Statistics for England 2005/06, NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre (0845 300 6016)
Links: Report | DH press release | BMA press release | NHS Employers press release | BBC report
Date: 2006-Sep
The healthcare inspectorate described how (following consultation) it intended to go about measuring National Health Service performance for 2006-07.
Source: The Annual Health Check in 2006/2007: Assessing and rating the NHS, Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (020 7448 9200)
Links: Report | Consultation responses
Date: 2006-Sep
A think-tank report said that the massive increase in government expenditure on the National Health Service had not resulted in anything like the level of improvements in the service which might have been expected.
Source: James Gubb, The NHS and the NHS Plan: Is the extra money working?, Civitas (020 7401 5470)
Links: Report | Civitas press release | BMA press release | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Aug
The race equality watchdog said that it might formally investigate the Department of Health's policy-making procedures unless it took urgent action to ensure that new policies could be implemented locally without an unfair impact on minority groups.
Source: :Press release 23 August 2006, Commission for Racial Equality (020 7939 0000)
Links: CRE press release | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Aug
A paper said that there was considerable evidence of growth in both the volume and quality of National Health Service activity: but this had not in general kept pace with the growth in expenditure. On most measures, therefore, NHS productivity was either static or declining. However, there were a large number of unresolved methodological issues that made it hard to draw any definitive conclusions.
Source: Stephen Martin, Peter Smith and Sheila Leatherman, Value for Money in the English National Health Service: Summary of the evidence, Research Paper 18, Centre for Health Economics/University of York (01904 433648)
Links: Paper
Date: 2006-Jul
An article examined user-responsiveness among primary care trusts in England, in the context of the emergence of quasi-markets in healthcare.
Source: Susan Pickard, Rod Sheaff and Bernard Dowling, 'Exit, voice, governance and user-responsiveness: the case of English primary care trusts', Social Science & Medicine Volume 63 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Jul
The NHS Redress Bill was given a third reading. The Bill was designed to overhaul the compensation regime for cases where National Health Service treatment had gone wrong.
Source: NHS Redress Bill [HL], Department of Health, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 13 July 2006, columns 1521-1575, TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard | HOC brief
Date: 2006-Jul
Many National Health Service trusts admitted to failing to meet basic standards of safety and quality of care. Just one-third of the 570 trusts in England said they had met all 44 of the government's core healthcare targets. This was the first time every NHS trust in England had issued a public declaration on how they had performed against basic competence goals.
Source: Press release 11 July 2006, Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (020 7448 9200)
Links: CHAI press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Jul
An audit report said that ineffective management or inadequate board-level leadership, and sometimes both, had caused the serious financial problems seen in a small number of National Health Service bodies.
Source: Learning the Lessons from Financial Failure in the NHS, Audit Commission (0800 502030)
Links: Report | Audit Commission press release | NHS Alliance press release | BBC report
Date: 2006-Jul
An article compared the outcome of a public sector performance management system (star ratings for acute hospital trusts in England) with a productivity measure analogous to those used in the analysis of the private sector. It was found that the two were almost entirely unrelated - raising questions as to the appropriateness of such indicators of performance, particularly over the long term.
Source: Philip Andrew Stevens, Lucy Stokes and Mary O'Mahony, 'Metrics, targets and performance', National Institute Economic Review Volume 197 Number 1, National Institute for Economic and Social Research (020 7654 1901)
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Jul
The government published the first official analysis of hidden delays in the National Health Service in England. Hospitals were hitting the target for all patients to get a first outpatient appointment within 13 weeks of being referred: but many patients then had to wait months for diagnostic tests and further outpatient appointments before they were allowed to join the inpatient queue. After that, they could wait a further six months for an operation. Some waited up to two years in total.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 12 July 2006, columns 69-70WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | DH statistics | Kings Fund press release | RNID press release | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Jul
The healthcare inspectorate published its annual report for 2005-06.
Source: Annual Report 2005/2006: Putting patients first - a better experience of health and healthcare, HC 1381, Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | CHAI press release
Date: 2006-Jul
A report by a committee of MPs said that too many National Health Service staff failed to report lapses in patient safety.
Source: A Safer Place for Patients: Learning to improve patient safety, Fifty-first Report (Session 2005-06), HC 831, House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Health Foundation press release | BBC report
Date: 2006-Jul
An article examined the problems associated with setting targets for healthcare performance in which the centre set a uniform set of targets and levels of performance. The case study examined was the system of 'star ratings' introduced from 2001 by the Department of Health for each organization in the National Health Service in England.
Source: Gwyn Bevan, 'Setting targets for health care performance lessons from a case study of the English NHS', National Institute Economic Review Volume 197 Number 1, National Institute for Economic and Social Research (020 7654 1901)
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Jul
An audit report said that the National Health Service in Wales had made considerable progress in reducing long waiting times and in tackling their causes strategically.
Source: NHS Waiting Times: Follow-up report, Wales Audit Office (029 2026 0260)
Links: Report | WAO press release | NHS Wales press release
Date: 2006-Jun
A report said that the National Health Service was delivering more and improved health services, and also a much better quality of care for patients.
Source: Chief Executive s Report to the NHS: June 2006, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Report | Statistical supplement | Financial report | DH press release | Hansard
Date: 2006-Jun
A report said that the National Health Service could improve patient care, and save more than 700 million per year in the process, by improving efficiency.
Source: Delivering Quality and Value: Focus on productivity and efficiency, NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement (0870 066 2071)
Links: Report | DH press release | FT report
Date: 2006-Jun
A report by a committee of MSPs commended the National Health Service for good progress in reducing the number of people with long waits: but it expressed doubts as to whether sufficiently robust plans were in place to ensure new targets would be met.
Source: Tackling Waiting Times in the NHS in Scotland, 3rd Report 2006, SP Paper 590, Scottish Parliament Audit Committee, available from Blackwell's Bookshop (0131 622 8283)
Links: Report | SP press release
Date: 2006-Jun
The NHS Redress Bill was given a second reading. The Bill was designed to overhaul the compensation regime for cases where National Health Service treatment had gone wrong.
Source: NHS Redress Bill [HL], Department of Health, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 5 June 2006, columns 24-81, TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard | HOC brief
Date: 2006-Jun
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on the 'compensation culture'. It said that it was determined to tackle excessive risk-aversion in the provision of public services.
Source: Government Response to the Constitutional Affairs Select Committee's Reports: Compensation Culture and Compensation Culture: National Health Service Redress Bill, Cm 6784, Department for Constitutional Affairs, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Response | MPs report 1 | MPs report 2
Date: 2006-May
The government announced a review of the quality of care provided by National Health Service treatment centres run by the independent sector.
Source: Press release 26 April 2006, Department of Health (020 7210 4850)
Links: DH press release
Date: 2006-Apr
A report into how the National Health Service performed during the winter of 2005-06 highlighted a number of improvements since 1999-2000.
Source: Winter Report 2005 2006, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Report | DH press release
Date: 2006-Mar
An article presented various estimates of changes in productivity in public expenditure on health, using national accounts data from 1995 to 2004. National Health Service productivity was estimated to have either increased by an average of up to 1.6 per cent per year, or fallen by an average of up to 1.3 per cent per year, according to the method chosen.
Source: 'Public service productivity: health', Economic Trends, March 2006, Office for National Statistics, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Article
Date: 2006-Mar
An article expressed concern about the quality of treatment provided by independent sector treatment centres.
Source: W. Angus Wallace, 'Independent sector treatment centres: how the NHS is left to pick up the pieces', British Medical Journal, 11 March 2006
Links: Abstract | BBC report
Date: 2006-Mar
The healthcare inspectorate said that hospitals and primary care trusts would in future be assessed separately on quality of care and on financial management.
Source: <Press release 12 March 2006, Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (020 7448 9200)
Links: CHAI press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Mar
The healthcare inspectorate summarized its inspection work in 2004-05 in relation to private healthcare services.
Source: The Healthcare Commission s Findings Relating to the Independent Healthcare Sector in England 2004/2005, Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (020 7448 9200)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Mar
The total number of patients waiting to be admitted to National Health Service hospitals in England at the end of December 2005 was 784,300 - an increase of 10,000 (1.3 per cent) since the end of November 2005, but a fall of 73,900 (8.6 per cent) since December 2004.
Source: Statistical press release 3 February 2006, Department of Health (020 7210 4850)
Links: DH press release | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Feb
An audit report said that the National Health Service in Scotland had made significant progress towards meeting waiting time targets.
Source: Tackling Waiting Times in the NHS in Scotland, Audit Scotland for Accounts Commission and Auditor General (0131 477 1234)
Links: Report | Summary | Audit Scotland press release | BMA press release | BBC report
Date: 2006-Feb
A paper said that the star rating system for English National Health Service trusts seemed to have improved performance: but systems needed to be put in place to minimize 'gaming' and ensure targets were not causing problems elsewhere.
Source: Gwyn Bevan and Christopher Hood, What s Measured is What Matters: Targets and gaming in the English public health care system, Department of Politics and International Relations/University of Oxford (01865 285968)
Links: Paper | BBC report
Date: 2006-Feb
A study provided evidence on the operation of funding arrangements in several areas of personal injury litigation and examined, for the first time in detail, the funding of clinical negligence cases. Conditional fee agreements were found to be the predominant means of financing personal injury claims. The complexity and value of personal injury claims run under CFAs had not changed significantly since the introduction of rules allowing for recovery of success fees and after-the-event insurance premiums. CFAs had become a significant source of funding for new clinical negligence cases.
Source: Paul Fenn, Alastair Gray, Neil Rickman and Yasmeen Mansur, The Funding of Personal Injury Litigation: Comparisons over time and across jurisdictions, Department for Constitutional Affairs (020 7210 8500)
Date: 2006-Feb
A report discussed various methodologies and measures of quality improvements in the National Health Service.
Source: Phillip Lee, Public Service Productivity: Health, Office for National Statistics (0845 601 3034)
Links: Report | Technical note | ONS press release | NHS Confederation press release | BBC report
Date: 2006-Feb
A think-tank report said that the government needed to be clear about the value of the benefits expected from spending on the health service before it committed itself to future investment.
Source: John Appleby and Anthony Harrison, Spending on Healthcare: How much is enough?, King s Fund (020 7307 2591)
Links: Report | King's Fund press release
Date: 2006-Feb
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on patient safety. It said that it shared the committee's disappointment at the 'unacceptable' safety performance of a very small minority of National Health Service trusts – within the overall picture of 'dramatically improved' care for patients.
Source: The Government Response to the Health Select Committee Report 'Patient Safety', Cm 7709, Department of Health, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Response | MPs report | Hansard
Date: 2006-Jan
An audit report examined the joint financing and integrated care arrangements between National Health Service bodies and local councils in England with adult social care responsibilities. There was limited evidence that pooled funding had led to service improvements, with partners lacking indicators to measure success.
Source: Means to an End: Joint financing across health and social care, Audit Commission (0800 502030)
Links: Report | Summary | Audit Commission press release | ADASS press release | NHS Confederation press release | Community Care report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Jan
An article said that the government's 18-week waiting list target for the National Health Service by 2008 would be achieved, but questioned whether it was in the interest of patients and the system to meet the target in the long run.
Source: Richard Lewis and John Appleby, 'Can the English NHS meet the 18-week waiting list target?', Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, Volume 99 Issue 1
Links: Article
Date: 2006-Jan
The inspectorate for healthcare and social care published performance ratings for all 392 National Health Service trusts in England for 2008-09. The NHS was performing well on quality, and had significantly improved its financial management: but there was concern about the 20 trusts rated 'weak' on quality (particularly those rated weak over a number of years), and about trusts rated 'fair' for too long without improving.
Source: NHS Performance Ratings 2008/09: An overview of the performance of NHS trusts in England, Care Quality Commission (03000 616161)
Links: Report | CQC press release | Patients Association press release | NHS Employers press release | RCN press release | Community Care report | BBC report | Guardian report | Pulse report
Date: 2006-Jan