By Vivienne Russell | 8 April 2013
High-quality financial management is one of 11 areas the health service will be measured against, NHS England announced today.
Publishing its business plan for the next three years, the new body overseeing the NHS in England said that, above all, patients would be put at the heart of everything the health service does.
The plan, called Putting patients first, includes an 11-point scorecard that will be introduced to measure performance against key priorities. This will take account of feedback from patients, their families and NHS staff.
On financial management, the plan includes a commitment to ensure value for money. The quango’s annual assessment of the 211 Clinical Commissioning Groups will include a judgement on their financial performance. Allocations methodology will also be reviewed to ensure it is as ‘fair as possible and consistent with our objectives’. Interim findings from this review will be published in July, with a final report expected by July 2014.
Other measures included on the scorecard were: becoming an excellent organisation; ensuring people have a positive experience of care; and motivated, positive NHS staff.
Malcolm Grant, chair of NHS England, said: ‘Recent events have demonstrated the need for constant vigilance to ensure consistently high standards of care across the NHS and to pick up possible failures at an early stage. This is why we have placed quality care at the heart of everything we do.
‘The key test is whether patients would recommend their local NHS care and if NHS staff feel positive about what they are doing.’
NHS England came into effect on April 1 under the provisions of the government’s controversial Health & Social Care Act. Previously called the NHS Commissioning Board, the arm’s length body has overall responsibility for the £95bn NHS commissioning budget, oversees the 211 new Clinical Commissioning Groups and sets the overall direction and priorities for the health service in England. It has been set up as an ‘executive non-departmental public body’ of the Department of Health.
