Written question asked by Lord Brightman (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Warner (Labour) on Friday, 20 January 2006.

NHS: Quality of Medical Care

Question: What assessment they have made of the impact of targets on the National Health Service in terms of the quality of medical care.

Answer: In meeting their duty of quality as set by Section 45 of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003 each National Health Service body takes into account the statement of national standards for the NHS published by the Secretary of State for Health in 2004 as Standards for Better Health. Core standard C7 sets a specific responsibility upon individual NHS bodies to implement the national performance requirements.The Healthcare Commission’s annual healthcheck of NHS bodies will assess their achievement of the standards, including that relating to targets, set in Standards for Better Health. The results of the commission’s first annual healthcheck, that for the year 2005–06, will be published in September 2006.The Government support and promote the quality of medical care in a wide range of other ways. The recent publication Reform of the NHS in England: update and next steps sets out how patient choice will create incentives for hospitals and other providers to improve the quality and responsiveness of the services they provide, within a framework of regulation and decision-making that guarantees quality, fairness, equity and value for money.

Secondary information