The Healthcare Commission[1] is an independent body, set up to promote and drive improvement in the quality of healthcare and public health in England and Wales. Health care is the prevention treatment and management of illness and the preservation of mental health through the services offered by the medical, Nursing Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease prolonging life and promoting health through the organised efforts and informed choices of society organisations England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland It aims to achieve this by becoming an authoritative and trusted source of information and by ensuring that this information is used to drive improvement. The Commission is a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) established by the Department of Health. In the United Kingdom, a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury and Scottish Government The Department of Health (DH is a department of the United Kingdom government but with responsibility for government policy for England alone on Health
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Role
The Healthcare Commission fulfils its role in promoting quality in healthcare through providing an independent assessment of the standards of services provided by the NHS, private healthcare and voluntary organisations. The National Health Service is the name commonly used to refer to the four Publicly-funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom collectively or individually (although
The Healthcare Commission achieves this by:
- Regulating and inspecting NHS, private and voluntary healthcare providers.
- Reviewing formal complaints about the NHS that have not been resolved.
- Handling complaints about private and voluntary healthcare service providers.
- Investigating serious failures in NHS, private and voluntary services.
These functions apply in England, though the Healthcare Commission has a limited role in Wales, complemented by that of Healthcare Inspectorate Wales, which is part of the Welsh Assembly. The National Assembly for Wales (Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The ability to inspect all sectors, provide guidance and act if that guidance is not acted on is possible because the Healthcare Commission is independent.
History
The Healthcare Commission took over the role of the Commission for Health Improvement (CHI) on the 1st April 2004 and also assumed some of the responsibilities of the National Care Standards Commission (NCSC) and the Audit Commission, as well as a number of additional functions. The Audit Commission is a Public corporation in the United Kingdom, established under the Local Government Finance Act 1982 to appoint auditors to all local
The legal name for the Healthcare Commission is the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (CHAI). It was created by the Health and Social Care (Community Standards) Act 2003.
The Commission's Chairman is Professor Sir Ian Kennedy.
Annual Health Check
For the first two years of its existence, the Healthcare Commission continued the annual reporting of NHS providers using star ratings where Trusts were awarded one, two or three stars based upon their performance measured against clinical targets.
From 2006, an annual health check replaces the 'star ratings' assessment system and looks at a much broader range of issues than the targets used previously. It seeks to make much better use of the data, judgements and expertise of others to focus on measuring what matters to people who use and provide healthcare services.
The overall aim of the new assessment of performance, and the information gained through the process, is to promote improvements in healthcare. The annual health check process is designed to use views of patients and users of services as well as robust data sources for the arms-length monitoring of clinical performance. This lessening of the target setting by Whitehall is in line with the 'light touch' strategy set out by Gordon Brown in his 2005 budget and compatible with the vision proposed by David Cameron at the 2006 Conservative conference. WikipediaManual of Style (biographies#Academic titles --> James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951 is David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966 is a British Politician and the current leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of Her Majesty's The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. It also aims to help people to make better informed decisions about their care, promote the sharing of information and give clearer expectations on standards of performance.
The new ratings effectively grade NHS organisations on the quality of services and use of resources with services deemed to be one of four levels: Weak - Fair - Good - Excellent. Trusts that meet the clinical targets used in the previous star ratings will achieve a fair rating. Good and Excellent ratings will be awarded to organisations that can demonstrate that they have processes in place to improve their services.
Mission statement
The Healthcare Commission promotes improvement in the quality of the NHS and independent healthcare. We have a wide range of responsibilities, all aimed at improving the quality of healthcare. We have a statutory duty to assess the performance of healthcare organisations, award annual performance ratings for the NHS and coordinate reviews of healthcare by others. Through this site, you can find out more about what we do and the difference we will make to patients and the public.
The Healthcare Commission aims to promote improvement in the quality of NHS and independent healthcare across England and Wales.
Among the Commission's functions, these mainly include:
- to independently inspect health services from patients' perspective, using standards set out by the Department of Health
- to coordinate NHS inspections with a range of other healthcare organisations in order to minimise disruption to doctors and nurses
- to identify how effectively public funds are used within healthcare - particularly whether tax payers are getting good value for money
- to develop an independent second stage for complaints about the NHS which cannot be resolved locally
- to investigate serious failures in healthcare services
- to publish regular ratings of NHS trusts in England and an annual report on healthcare in England and Wales.
We are interested not only in treatment but also in preventative work such as the quality of services that help people stop smoking. It is for this reason that our inspections will also look at how well health services protect and improve the health of the public.
Proposed future
The Health and Social Care Bill 2007-08[2] proposes a merger of the Healthcare Commission, the Commission for Social Care Inspection and the Mental Health Act Commission to create a single, integrated regulator for health and adult social care - the Care Quality Commission[3]. The Commission for Social Care Inspection is a non-departmental public body and the single independent inspectorate for social care in England. The Mental Health Act Commission is an NHS Special Health Authority which provides a safeguard for people who are detained in hospital under the powers of the Mental Health Subject to the passing of the Bill by Parliament, the Care Quality Commission will begin operating in April 2009 as a non-departmental public body. The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories In the United Kingdom, a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury and Scottish Government
References
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