Single Oversight Framework for NHS trusts and foundation trusts Our response to NHS Improvement's consultation

NHS Improvement consulted on a Single Oversight Framework for NHS trusts and foundation trusts, which supersedes the regimes of its predecessor bodies Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority.

We welcomed NHS Improvement’s (NHSI) intention to bring NHS trusts and foundation trusts into the same oversight framework and the offer of support to providers, which represented a positive shift in the proactive support NHS providers receive from national bodies.

However, we argued that NHSI will need to be clear about how they plan to strike the balance between support and oversight and to ensure their approach is aligned with the performance and regulatory regimes of the Care Quality Commission and NHS England.

Our view is that effective oversight must balance the need for the NHS to maintain quality and contain costs during a time when the scale and pace of change is unprecedented. Therefore, in exercising its functions we urged NHSI to ensure that its solutions to problems are conducive to the long-term vision providers and local health economies are working towards.