http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/323/7322/1145/a
BMJ 2001;323:1145 ( 17 November )
Roger Dobson
A wider role and greater independence for the Commission for Health Improvement
(CHI) are outlined in the new NHS Reform Bill, published last week.
The independence of the commission will be guaranteed in law, and the
organisation will be required to produce an annual report to
parliament on the performance of the health service in England. The
commission will also in future publish star ratings for NHS organisations,
and will have new powers to designate failing health services as
being in need of special measures.
A new council to oversee the work of healthcare professional regulators is
also among a package of proposals in the new bill. The Council for
the Regulation of Health Care Professionals will oversee the
activities of the various regulatory bodies of the healthcare
professions, including the General Medical Council.
"The Council [for the Regulation of Health Care Professionals] will
have a right of appeal in exceptional cases where decisions on the
fitness to practise by a healthcare professional or the outcome of
misconduct cases appear to be harmful to the protection of the
public," said the Department of Health.
The bill will also establish the Commission for Patient and Public
Involvement in Health, whose brief includes ensuring that the views
of patients are heard at all levels of the NHS. Every NHS trust and
primary care trust in England will have an independent Patients'
Forum to inspect and monitor hospital performance.
The Commission for Health Improvement said it welcomed the changes as an
endorsement of its work so far. It said it was very pleased to be
asked to run the Office for Information on Healthcare Performance,
which will take the lead on validating and publishing NHS data on
clinical performance.
"CHI has been given much wider responsibility in the bill, and this is
recognition of the work we have already done in improving the NHS.
We are determined to see a significant improvement in the quality of
patient care, and the widening of our role gives us the tools to do
that," said the commission's chief executive, Peter Homa.
Responding to the publication of the NHS Reform Bill, Dr Ian Bogle, BMA
Chairman said: "The Reform Bill has huge implications for the
delivery of health care. The introduction of primary care organisations
controlling 75% of health spending is the biggest reorganisation of
the health service since 1974. It is a dramatic move away from
centralised health authority control and it should bring decision
making closer to the patient."
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