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Landmark day as patients to help put quality at the heart of the NHS and social care

Patient feedback on operations and the start of the new NHS and Social care complaints system are two of the measures that will come into force today, marking a major milestone, that will ensure quality of patient care is at the centre of everything the NHS does, the Department of Health announced.

A number of measures, all designed to raise the quality of services and standards in the NHS in England come into effect from 1 April. The measures include:

• The Performance Framework - will set minimum standards of quality, safety and financial management that patients can expect from the NHS and tackle underperformance in hospitals and primary care trusts. The framework will identify trusts, remove poor managers and bring in new management, including from other hospitals or from the private sector.
• Patient feedback on operations - people who undergo hip or knee replacements, groin hernia and varicose vein surgery will be asked to asses how successful they felt the procedure was and whether they were satisfied with the outcome. The Patient Reported Outcome Measures have been welcomed by clinicians and patient groups as an effective way to provide GPs and their patients with better information about where to go for their NHS treatment.
• The National Quality Board - provides strategic oversight and leadership on quality in the NHS. The Board met for the first time on Monday (30 March).
• A new, simpler complaints system - which will encourage a culture that seeks and then acts on patient feedback to make services more effective, personal and safe. The new system will also make the NHS more accountable.
• Care Quality Commission starts work - we have brought together the regulation of health and adult social care under one independent regulator. The Commission will have significant new powers to assure people that the services they receive are fair, personal, effective and safe.
• Payment framework for Commissioning for Quality and Innovation - makes a small proportion of income for providers of NHS services dependent on locally agreed goals, to innovate and improve quality of care for patients.