The Government's NHS Plan aims to 'redesign the system around the patient'. It also recognises the potential of information to enhance the accountability of the NHS and to empower those who use its services. The Plan included the proposal that the Audit Commission, together with the Commission for Health Improvement, should contribute to the publication of an annual 'report card' setting out how well the NHS in England is performing.
The concept of a report card could be taken to mean a simple listing of results, coupled perhaps with brief evaluative comments. It is clear, however, that a minimal approach cannot do justice to the complexity of many of the performance issues that face the NHS across England. If the public is to gain a real understanding of performance, then results must be set in the context of a clear and balanced explanation.
This report represents a stage in the development of the Audit Commission's thinking on how NHS performance could best be reported to the public. This thinking has been informed both by a survey of the public's views and by the Commission's involvement in the recent development of the NHS Performance Assessment Framework. Beyond these specific initiatives, we have drawn on our experience of working with the NHS to understand and tackle many of the challenges discussed in the Commentary.
Our aim in sharing the results of this work more widely is to widen the debate among those with an interest in the public reporting of NHS performance. We are doing this at a time when the Department of Health has underlined its commitment to public accountability and independent reporting. Delivering the NHS Plan proposes the establishment of the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection. This new body will have a key role in explaining to the public how NHS resources have been deployed and how they are being translated into improved performance. We hope that the Audit Commission's work will be of value to the new body as it considers how to fulfil its responsibilities. We are therefore circulating this prototype to encourage comments from a wide audience. Contact details are given at the end of the document.
Included in this report:
- spending on healthcare
- nurses and doctors
- NHS efficiency
- management costs
- waiting for an operation
- the ambulance service
- waiting times in accident and emergency
- delays in leaving hospital
- hospital food
- improving the appearance of hospitals
- GP surgeries
- helping people stop smoking
- preventing suicides
- surviving cancer
- deaths following heart bypass surgery