Demands for ‘level playing field’

Dr. Vallance-Owen called for independent and NHS hospitals to establish common and agreed definitions for performance indicators and for all hospitals, over time, to contribute fully to the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) dataset, in order to create “a level playing field”. In addition, he suggested that performance indicators should go beyond failure statistics on death rates, infections and complaints to include success rates through patient reported outcomes, measuring health gain from treatment, and patient satisfaction levels.

Dr.Vallance-Owen told the convention of healthcare analysts that the independent sector should lead the way in publishing an agreed set of clinical performance indicators because it has the ability to move more quickly than the NHS. The long-term aim, however, should be for all hospitals to collect and publish the same set of indicators.