22 April 2005
The Healthcare Commission has hit out at suggestions that the final set of star ratings will be ignored by NHS trusts.
After this year, star ratings will be replaced by a new set of health checks, which rely heavily on self evaluation.
For the first time, patients and public representatives will be given a formal role in assessing trusts, though the commission will continue to rate trusts on a four-point scale. The first set of health checks is due in September 2006.
Some NHS commentators believe the changes have discredited this year's star ratings. Michael Dixon, chair of the NHS Alliance, told the BBC: 'Star ratings have had their day. This year we will have star ratings without them being taken too seriously.'
But a commission spokesman insisted: 'Star ratings are just as relevant to the NHS and patients and the public as they were in previous years and are an important means of holding the NHS to account.
'Patients want to know that trusts are meeting targets for hospital waiting times, standards of cleanliness and access to a GP. Our new system of assessment builds on the current system of star ratings, creating a much richer picture of how a health care organisation is performing.'
The alliance represents PCTs but acute and mental health trusts have more reason to pay attention to the star ratings as three stars can allow them to bid for foundation trust status.
One chief executive of a trust hoping to become a foundation next year said: 'It is vital we gain three stars this year, so we are not ignoring them.
'The local press will not ignore our rating and I suspect that will be true for all trusts.'
PFapr2005
