National standards for treatment and care

The NHS Cancer Plan and Cancer Reform Strategy

In 2000 the NHS cancer plan was published, this outlined the services needed to provide high quality cancer treatment and care for all patients. The cancer plan recommended that the treatment and care of all people with cancer should be provided by specialist cancer teams using, wherever possible, nationally agreed treatment guidelines. The guidelines described the services that should be available, the specialist teams needed and the sorts of treatment and care that should be offered to patients, for each type of cancer. This plan was updated in December 2007 with the launch of the Cancer Reform strategy. This five year plan builds on the progress made since the publication of the NHS Cancer Plan in 2000 and sets a clear direction for cancer services for the next five years.

Hospital ratings

Every year the healthcare commission assesses how hospitals in England are performing against a set of government targets. This used to result in star ratings and ‘league tables’ for hospitals. Hospitals were awarded no stars or one, two or three stars depending on how well they were doing (three is the best). There are often stories in the media about these star ratings, but it is important to remember that they were introduced in response to specific government targets and may not relate to the quality of cancer care provided by a hospital.

In 2006 the Healthcare commission published the first NHS annual healthcheck it’s far more wide-ranging and tougher than the old system of star ratings. It scores NHS trusts on many aspects of their performance, including the quality of the services they provide to patients and the public and how well they manage their finances and other resources such as their property and staff. These scores are based on a range of information gathered throughout the year.

The Healthcare Commission, Commission for Social Care Inspection and the Mental Health Act Commission ceased to exist on 31 March 2009. The Care Quality Commission is the new health and social care regulator for England.

Page last edited: 25 November 2011

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