§ Mr. NormanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will publish the full details of the 2003–04 NHS performance indicators for(a) acute and specialist trusts, (b) primary care trusts, (c) mental health trusts and (d) ambulance trusts. [152624]
§ Mr. HuttonThe national health service performance ratings for 2003–04 will be published by the new Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection. The indicators to be used for the 2003–04 ratings were published by the Commission for Health Improvement (CHI) on 18 December 2003. Full details can be found on the CHI website at www.chi.nhs.uk.
§ Mr. NormanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what the official definitions are of(a) NHS performance indicators, (b) NHS targets and (c) NHS standards. [152623]
§ Mr. HuttonNational health service performance indicators are now published by the Commission for Health Improvement as part of the NHS performance ratings. They measure service quality and progress in areas of importance to patients and the public. The performance ratings system assesses trusts' performance on these indicators.
295WTargets are the level of service that the Government expects all NHS organisations to achieve and are set out in the priorities and planning framework for that year.
The standards will define levels of service quality, which those providing or commissioning English NHS health services should seek to achieve. The performance of the NHS against those standards will be assessed against criteria to be set by the independent Commission for Health Care Audit and Inspection.