Maintain focus on quality
We strongly endorse the emphasis placed on the quality of NHS services that began with the Darzi review, High Quality Care for All, and gathered importance with the response to the events at the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. Our findings confirm that this was necessary and must not be lost. We are concerned that the scale of recent NHS reconfiguration could result in new organisations and post-holders losing the focus on this priority. We recommend that the importance of putting quality first is re-emphasised and local arrangements reviewed to identify any need for personal or organisational development, including amongst clinical leadership in commissioning organisations. Action: NHS England, the Department of Health.
How was this assessed?
Response
Accepted
Response
Accepted111. We accept this recommendation, and strongly agree that the emphasis on
quality of care must be maintained, and that service changes should put the safety
and quality of patient care as central objectives. Indeed the recent NHS reforms to
the structure and assessment of the health service, including GP-led commissioning
and an expert-led inspection system have put clinical priorities and patient care at its
heart. The Government will continue to prioritise the quality of care, and will hold its
arms-length bodies to account on their commitments to reinforce and improve the
quality of care. This will be a key focus of the newly re-established National Quality
Board, in providing leadership for quality across the NHS.
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