Final Report > Recommendations > A Health Service which is well led > The regulation of the quality and safety of healthcare

The regulation of the quality and safety of healthcare

39. The framework of regulation must consist of two overarching organisations, independent of government, which bring together the various bodies which regulate healthcare. A Council for the Quality of Healthcare should be created to bring together those bodies which regulate healthcare standards and institutions (including, for example, the Commission for Health Improvement (CHI), the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the proposed National Patient Safety Agency). A Council for the Regulation of Healthcare Professionals should be created to bring together those bodies which regulate healthcare professionals (including, for example, the General Medical Council (GMC) and the Nursing and Midwifery Council); in effect, this is the body currently referred to in `The NHS Plan' as the Council of Healthcare Regulators. These overarching organisations must ensure that there is an integrated and co-ordinated approach to setting standards, monitoring performance, and inspection and validation. Issues of overlap and of gaps between the various bodies must be addressed and resolved.
40. The two Councils should be independent of government and report both to the DoH and to Parliament. There should be close collaboration between the two Councils. The DoH should establish and fund the Councils and set their strategic framework, and thereafter periodically review them.
41. The various bodies whose purpose it is to assure the quality of care in the NHS (for example, CHI and NICE) and the competence of healthcare professionals (for example, the GMC and the Nursing and Midwifery Council) must themselves be independent of and at arm's-length from the DoH.
42. All the various bodies and organisations concerned with regulation, besides being independent of government, must involve and reflect the interests of patients, the public and healthcare professionals, as well as the NHS and government.