§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what conditions he will include in the contracts for management boards of diagnostic and treatment centres relating to the quality of care for patients. [119676]
§ Mr. HuttonThe providers of independent sector Diagnosis and Treatment Centres (DTCs) will be required to deliver high clinical standards and quality of care for patients. They will be required to meet current independent sector standards and will be regulated and inspected by the National Care Standards Commission. Bidders and National Health Service commissioners will agree, as part of the contract process, appropriate and effective arrangements for quality assurance and continuous quality improvement and meet the clinical service requirements. NHS sponsors subsequently manage these contracts, monitoring performance across a range of indicators, including clinical standards and quality of care.
The arrangements for how project agreements will be monitored have yet to be finalised, but there will be a local management group and a central co-ordinating team, to monitor the performance of independent sector DTC providers for each contract.