NHS conflict of interest guidance published

NHS England has published new guidelines to strengthen the management of conflicts of interest and ensure that the NHS is a world leader for transparent and accountable healthcare.

Following a six-week consultation last September, NHS England’s new guidance will require NHS staff to decline anything that could be seen to affect their professional judgement. This means that while receiving a box of chocolates or other small tokens of gratitude from patients is acceptable, any gifts with a value over £50 must be declared.

The final guidance covers a range of measures, including: setting consistent and clear minimum standards and clear guidelines for when staff should declare gifts and hospitality; requiring organisations to make registers of interests available for public scrutiny; and underlining NHS England’s support for the Disclosure UK scheme, which publishes details of payments made to staff by the pharmaceutical industry.

If endorsed the new guidance will come into force on 1 June 2017.

Sir Malcolm Grant, chairman of NHS England, said: “The public rightly expects NHS staff to behave appropriately and use the healthcare budget to achieve the best outcomes for patients. While behaviour is exemplary in virtually all instances, there are times when more could have been done to prevent standards slipping.

“We have invited comment from the public, patients, NHS staff and other stakeholders on our proposals and have acted on what they have told us. This new guidance will bring a consistent approach to conflicts of interest and ensure that the public can have faith in the integrity of the NHS.”

Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, added: “We welcome these guidelines and recognise the need to bring greater coherence and consistency to how the health service handles conflicts and potential conflicts of interest.”