12 April 2002
Reports this week suggested that Chancellor Gordon Brown will announce the new inspectorate in next week's Budget as a quid pro quo for the extra billions of pounds to be poured into the NHS over the next few years.
The new body would merge clinical standards watchdog the Commission for Health Improvement (Chi) with the Audit Commission's NHS value-for-money work. Options placed before Health Secretary Alan Milburn are understood to suggest creating either a single 'super regulator' or having one regulator for health and another for social care.
The change is being put forward as a tough new regulatory regime. But in reality it may be the fruition of Department of Health work to simplify inspection in the NHS. Ministers are concerned about the amount of clinical and management time spent dealing with regulators.
However, it would also allow Chi's 'star system' of trust performance to be extended to a wider range of clinical and management measures.
Fewer inspections would be welcome in the service. 'Inspection is important but at the moment it takes too much time and distracts us from the business of treating patients,' one chief executive told Public Finance.
Both Chi and the Audit Commission will seek to stress the importance of their work, but Chi is in pole position. The Audit Commission will be concerned as it had planned to expand its value-for-money work to measure the success of the government's NHS Plan. This work could now be left to the new body, which some fear will be less independent than the commission.
The Audit Commission said: 'We are committed to making sure public money is spent properly – that has always been our role and we are keen to work under whatever arrangements have been set to ensure the public interest is served.'
A Chi spokesman commented: 'We are in constant dialogue with the Audit Commission, the Social Services Inspectorate and others to avoid over-regulation. But any future merger is down to the secretary of state.'
PFapr2002
