Wednesday, July 16, 2003

Commission for Health Improvement: NHS Star Ratings (UK)
The CHI is the independent regulator of NHS performance, and this web page indexes Performance ratings for NHS trusts in England, covering the year ending March 2003. These are the first ratings produced and published by CHI, and are the first set of ratings in which primary care trusts and mental health trusts have received full star ratings. See, especially, the overview of mental health trusts, the results (in the form of a table with links to summaries and reports for each trust rated) and the page indexing indicators and results for each indicator. See also the related BBC story, Row over NHS star ratings ("This year's NHS star ratings have sparked a furious row between the government, doctors and opposition MPs. Ministers say the ratings show that NHS services are improving across England. But doctors and opposition parties have dismissed the claim, saying the ratings are 'ludicrous', 'pathetic' and 'unfair.' ") and the Guardian story, Mental health campaigners attack grades ("Mental health campaigners have branded the NHS performance ratings as 'astonishingly unrealistic' for failing to reflect the poor standards of care experienced by many patients. The number of top rated mental health trusts has more than trebled, according to the latest health service league table.").