- Date published
- December 2007
- Download publication [22kb PDF]
This statement sets out The Health Foundation’s position on key proposals in the government’s Health and Social Care Bill.
Background
The Health Foundation funds programmes, projects and research that aim to find the best ways of improving healthcare. This includes £4 million invested in supporting national clinical quality measurement schemes covering maternity services, cancer, mental health, bowel cancer, inflammatory bowel disease and respiratory diseases.
Why modernise regulation?
Recent research funded by The Health Foundation has shown that existing regulatory arrangements are not sufficient to make sure quality healthcare is delivered effectively. There is an urgent need for better regulation of healthcare professionals and effective measures to strengthen clinical governance.
The Health Foundation’s response
This paper responds to key proposals in the bill, including:
- introducing revalidation for healthcare professionals
- the role of the responsible medical officer.
It also suggests ways to address gaps, including:
- a requirement to participate in national clinical audits
- more support for healthcare professionals to make changes based on audit results.
It points out that efforts to introduce revalidation should focus on engaging clinicians in quality improvement rather than simply adding to the burden of administration.
It also calls for recommendations made in the Shipman inquiry and the Ayling, Neale and Kerr/Haslam inquiries concerned with improving regulation to be implemented immediately.
Who should read this viewpoint?
The viewpoint will be of interest to the government, Department of Health, and other organisations responding to the proposals.
