Our strategy for 2013 to 2016 sets out a clear purpose for us - to make sure health and social care services provide people with safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care and to encourage care services to make improvements.
This consultation is an important step towards making the changes needed to deliver our purpose. We want your feedback on our plans to:
- inspect all care services, NHS trusts and foundation trusts and independent acute hospitals.
- develop clear standards of care that health and social care services must meet.
- make better use of information and evidence we receive to decide when, where and what to expect.
- introduce Chief Inspectors to lead national teams of expert inspectors which will include people who receive care, clinical experts and others.
- develop a ratings system to help people choose between services and to encourage services to make improvements.
- make sure that directors or leaders of organisations have made legal commitments to provide safe and high-quality care, and are personally held to account for it.
You’ll also find our plans for delivering changes that specifically relate to the NHS. These changes include:
- indicators that we will use to trigger action in NHS acute hospitals.
- longer, more thorough hospital inspections.
A programme for failing hospitals that makes sure immediate action is taken to protect people and to hold those responsible to account.
