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Health care standards
The need for clear National Standards for health care was acknowledged in A First Class Service (1998) and the NHS Plan (2000). The Bristol Royal Infirmary Inquiry (the Kennedy Report), published in 2001, acknowledged the existence of a range of professional standards, but identified that, from a public or patient's-eye-view, there were no agreed standards on what to expect from the NHS.
Health care standards general information
Key documents about standards for NHS and private and voluntary healthcare.
Healthcare standards publications: Response to the Kennedy Report
In response to the Kennedy Report the then Secretary of State stated that 'there will be explicit national standards, developed in partnership with the professionals and patients, that apply across all parts of the country'
- Learning from Bristol: the Department of Health's response to the Report of the Public Inquiry into children's heart surgery at the Bristol Royal Infirmary 1984-1995
- Learning from Bristol: the Department of Health's response to the Report of the public inquiry into children's heart surgery at the Bristol Royal Infirmary 1984-1995: executive summary
- The report of the public inquiry into children's heart surgery at the Bristol Royal Infirmary 1984-1995: learning from Bristol (Cm 5207(I))
- The report of the public inquiry into children's heart surgery at the Bristol Royal Infirmary 1984-1995: learning from Bristol (Cm 5207(II))
Health Care Standards useful links
Care Quality Commission
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and social care in England. Its aim is to make sure better care is provided for everyone, whether in hospital, in care homes, in people’s own homes, or elsewhere. CQC regulates health and adult social care services, whether provided by the NHS, local authorities, private companies or voluntary organisations; and it protects the rights of people detained under the Mental Health Act.
Health Care Standards Unit
The Health Care Standards Unit (HCSU) was established in 2004 to support and develop the use of standards in the Department of Health and the National Health Service and specifically to maintain and develop the Secretary of State's Statement of Standards in a national and international context.
Healthcare associated infection
Healthcare associated infections - for instance, infections caught from other patients during a hospital stay - are a serious concern. Documents produced by the Communicable Diseases Branch, independent advisory committees and others, aimed primarily at health professionals.
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