The State of Quality in the NHS in England

Sara Martin, Harvard University. Harvard Medical School, Harvard University

Recent years have seen dramatic changes in the quality infrastructure of the NHS in England. In addition to the large-scale restructuring that occurred under the 2012 Health and Social Care Act, there have been copious changes intended to address well-publicized and scandalous lapses in the quality of care. Meanwhile, the NHS in England is coping with ever-restrictive budgetary demands. The resultant picture is of dynamic and complex development with multiple players. Given this, a key question is how best to move forward? How to develop a balanced strategy for quality that develops short, medium and long term goals, and can accommodate immediate political priorities? This thesis will attempt to give some answers, based on qualitative set of interviews with over 43 senior leaders – from the Department of Health, Arms Length Bodies, health care providers and commissioners, clinical...