NHS assessment to be split

NHS management is to be assessed separately from patient care in the fall-out following the concerns regarding overspending.

The Healthcare Commission has said that the new measures will be split into two ? quality of care and use of resources ? rather than adopting the single starring method as previously used.

Speaking on Sky News’s Sunday Live with Adam Boulton, health secretary Patricia Hewitt reflected her confidence in the new measures.

“A hospital that isn’t performing well in terms of its financial management won’t be able to move through and become a foundation trust, with all the extra freedoms that that means,” Mrs Hewitt said.

“Otherwise it depends on the nature of the problem they’ve got – they will get the appropriate help to improve their performance.”

Each category will be rated on a four-point scale, running form weak to excellent, which the government believes will give a “clear picture” of how NHS trusts are performing.

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