Enhancing the use analysis and dissemination of healthcare information
It must be recognised to be the professional duty of all healthcare professionals to collaborate in the provision of information required for such statistics on the efficacy of treatment in specialties.
- Participation in the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme (NCAPOP) is a condition of the NHS Standard Contract, establishing a professional obligation for healthcare organisations and their clinicians to contribute data to national audits. NCAPOP comprises more than 30 audits covering the most common conditions (NHS England, Clinical Audit).
- The General Medical Council's Good Medical Practice (updated 2024) and the NMC Code (2018) both require practitioners to participate in systems to monitor the quality of their practice, including contributing to clinical audits and providing data for quality improvement.
- GMC revalidation (introduced December 2012) requires doctors to demonstrate participation in quality improvement activities, including clinical audit, as a condition of maintaining their registration. NMC revalidation (introduced April 2016) requires similar engagement with quality improvement.
- GIRFT's methodology specifically relies on clinician collaboration in providing specialty-level treatment outcome data, with clinical leads appointed from within each specialty to drive engagement and data quality (GIRFT).
How was this evidence gathered?
Response
Accepted
Response
AcceptedThe government published "Hard Truths: the Journey to Putting Patients First" (Cm 8777) on 19 November 2013, responding to all 290 recommendations of the Francis Report. This followed an initial response "Patients First and Foremost" in March 2013. Key reforms included a new Chief Inspector of Hospitals, strengthened Care Quality Commission inspection regime, a statutory duty of candour, and the fit and proper person test for NHS directors. Volume 2 (Cm 8754) contains the government's detailed responses to each of the 290 recommendations. See: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7cd486ed915d63cc65d167/34658_Cm_8777_Vol_1_accessible.pdf
Published Evidence
Published assessments of progress from inspectorates, select committees, official progress reports, and other sources. Source type badge indicates whether each assessment is independent or government self-reported.
Research published 2023 marking ten years since the Francis Report found mixed results. Structural and legislative changes largely delivered (duty of candour, FPPR, CQC overhaul, revalidation, Freedom to Speak Up Guardians). However, cultural change not fully embedded; understaffing, fear of speaking up, and poor complaint handling persist in parts of the NHS.
Government published "Culture Change in the NHS" (Cm 9009) reporting progress on all 290 recommendations. Key achievements: 19 hospitals placed in special measures; those trusts recruited 109 additional doctors and 1,805 additional nurses; 129 board-level changes made; excess avoidable deaths fell by 450 in less than a year.
Government published "Hard Truths: The Journey to Putting Patients First" (Cm 8777) in two volumes. Vol 1 set out new actions; Vol 2 provided detailed response to each of the 290 recommendations. Approximately 204 of 290 recommendations were fully accepted.