Committee pilots new NHS ratings system

The Health and Social Care Committee has announced that an evaluation system that will give ratings on the government’s progress against its health and social care targets pledges is to be piloted.

The process will be carried out by an independent, expert panel established to evaluate a specific policy area, and will offer objective evaluation of ministerial pledges within a system designed to develop and enhance the committee’s core task of holding the government to account. This includes scrutiny of the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England, NHS Improvement and other public bodies.

The initial pilot will examine progress against targets in maternity services, an area where evaluation is expected to be of particular value. They will rate performance from ‘outstanding’ to ‘inadequate’ and seek to drive improvements where needed.

Future subjects could include cancer care, mental health provision and patient safety.

Jeremy Hunt, former Health Secretary and chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, said: “We are piloting a new CQC-style ratings system to provide an expert independent assessment of the government’s record on key pledges. This will mean the government is held to account by an evaluation process similar to that used across the NHS and social care system which gives not just an absolute score but key pointers as to how to improve that score next time round. We hope it will focus attention on areas such as cancer, mental health and patient safety where a number of vital commitments have been made.”