NHS 'must try harder'
NHS quality of services is generally classed as 'fair'
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Thursday, 12, Oct 2006 03:46
A comprehensive new report from the Healthcare Commission analysing the state of the NHS has found room for improvement amid generally favourable overall results.
The health watchdog's assessment of the nation's health provision is the first of its kind, replacing the old star rating system with a four-tier scoring structure of excellent, good, fair, and weak.
All trusts were assessed on the quality of the service they provide and their use of resources. The biggest category of all was 'fair', into which 47 per cent of trusts fell on resource use and 51 per cent fell on quality of services.
The report found that these trusts were generally good but there were areas in which they had to improve.
However, over a third of trusts received a score of 'weak' for use of resources and just two trusts received a score of 'excellent' for both use of resources and quality of services.
24 trusts received a score of 'weak' for both use of resources and quality of services.
"Patients will want the NHS to raise its game still further," Sir Ian Kennedy, chair of the Healthcare Commission, commented.
"They need a universal guarantee that trusts are meeting general standards. These are things that really matter to patients. We expect these standards will be met next year."
The first annual health check, as the report is known, has been met with differing reactions from stakeholders in Britain's health community.
Workers' union Unison acknowledged that the report was "stripped of any spin" and claimed that it contained an implicit call for more employment of cleaners in hospitals.
"Patients want clean wards and hospitals and we need to employ more cleaners to raise the standard of hygiene," Karen Jennings, Unison's head of health, said.
"Staff should be congratulated for the overall quality of patient care and for the considerable progress on targets for screening services, waiting times for cancer services and in A&E departments."
The British Medical Association (BMA), representing healthcare professionals, welcomed the report, saying that the gains achieved came "despite the incoherence of government policy frequently getting in the way of staff being able to deliver high quality care for their patients".
Meanwhile NHS Confederation, which represents 90 per cent of all NHS organisations, also attacked the government. It blamed over-regulation of the NHS for being at the root of problems afflicting failing trusts.
"The spread of results across different types of NHS organisations is proof that the latest round of reorganisations has adversely affected services," NHS Confederation's director of policy, Nigel Edwards, said.
"Foundation trusts, who haven't been reorganised and have extra freedoms to manage their own affairs, have been able to get on with the job and improve services as the health check shows."
But health secretary Patricia Hewitt responded vigorously to such accusations, claiming that structural changes would result in "further improvements" on those already taking place.
"There is no doubt that the NHS has made big improvements particularly on waiting times, access to cancer treatment, community mental health services and treating patients with respect and dignity," she said.
"But as these results show there needs to be even more improvement and we are working with the NHS to ensure that all organisations meet the core standards as soon as possible."