from David McDaid
LSE Health and Social Care
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Press Release from the Healthcare Commission in England
Best wishes

16th May 2005
http://www.healthcarecommission.org.uk/NewsAndEvents/PressReleases/PressReleaseDetail/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4017481&chk=u/RAfT

Healthcare regulator launches new bid to reduce "avoidable and unjust"
inequalities in health and healthcare provision
Healthcare organisations must reduce inequalities in people's health care,
the Healthcare Commission will say today (Monday) as it publishes a
three-year plan to improve health services.
The Commission's strategic plan for 2005-2008 highlights what the regulator
aims to achieve for patients and the public over the coming three years.
It aims to use its new system of assessment to drive improvement across the
NHS and independent healthcare sector, as well as ensuring that regulation
is efficient and well targeted.
A key cornerstone of the plan is ensuring its assessments focus on what is
being done to reduce inequalities in access to health care and in the
health of the population, whether as a result of age, gender, ethnicity,
social class, disability or geographical area.
The Commission pledges to check up on compliance with legislation on
equality and human rights, and include an explicit focus on health
inequalities in all its work streams. It will, for the first time, gather
and publish evidence on the ethnic origin, gender and religion of users of
mental health services.
Anna Walker, the Commission's Chief Executive, said the Commission's new
assessment systems will highlight the importance of reducing health
inequalities and inequalities in access to and provision of healthcare.
She said: "Large inequalities in health persist and in some cases are
widening. We know that the risks of premature death and ill health are
clustered around some geographical areas and identifiable groups.
"For example, rates of dying from coronary heart disease are three times
higher among unskilled manual male workers than among professional men.
Dying within a month of birth among babies of Pakistani-born mothers is
almost double the national average. There are also inequalities in access
to health care. Some inequalities are unavoidable, but many are both
avoidable and unjust.
"In the coming year, healthcare organisations will have to demonstrate to
us that working with others, including local government, they have assessed
the different needs and inequalities within the local population and
explain how services and resources are deployed to address them."
The strategic plan also details a substantial programme of activity
including a new risk-based approach to inspection, which focuses on what
matters most to patients and members of the public.
The programme includes:
*       A new system of assessment, providing an assessment of every NHS
organisation in England, will replace the old star ratings system and
provide a richer picture of how each organisation is performing. The new
approach will put the onus on healthcare organisations to make sure they
are meeting standards of performance. The Commission will check up on
self-assessments by analysing information on performance and by talking to
partners and observers.
*       National reviews that focus on promoting improvements in services
for specific groups of patients or conditions. For example, a review on
MRSA and infection control in acute trusts will begin this year. Other
reviews will focus on public health, mental health, substance misuse, and
services for children, older people and people with learning disabilities.
*       National surveys of staff and patients, both in the NHS and the
independent healthcare sector.
*       By 2006/2007, subject to legislation, assessment of both NHS and
independent healthcare according to similar sets of standards.
*       Continuing to resolve complaints from patients when local trusts
have not been able to do so and investigate instances of serious failures
in services.
*       Making more information available and accessible about what is
going on in healthcare.
Ms Walker said the strategic plan is a result of extensive consultation and
builds on learning from the Commission's first year of existence.
"We are fundamentally reshaping the approach to assessing the performance
of healthcare organisations. Our plans for the next few years should see
better health outcomes and access to services for patients and a
substantial reduction in the cost of inspection and of unnecessary
regulatory burdens on healthcare organisations.
 "This is the beginning of an exciting and challenging journey. It will
 demand that we work closely with patients, healthcare professions, other
 regulatory bodies and the public. We will listen, learn and seek
 continuously to improve what we do."

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