NHS Next Stage review outlines key role for NICE
In summer 2008, Health Minister Lord Ara Darzi delivered his final report on the NHS Next Stage Review. 'High quality care for all' calls for a health service that empowers staff and offers patients choice. It says that healthcare should be personalised and fair, include the most effective treatments within a safe system and help people to stay healthy.
Lord Darzi envisaged a key role for NICE, recommending that:
- patients are guaranteed access to NICE-approved drugs and treatments
- NICE technology appraisals are published earlier
- NICE sets up and manages a new NHS Evidence service to enable NHS staff to access clinical and non-clinical evidence and best practice
- NICE works with the Department of Health and professional and patient groups to create an independent, transparent process for developing and reviewing the indicators in the Quality and Outcomes Framework
- NICE becomes responsible for independent quality standards and setting clinical priorities within the NHS
- more of NICE's capacity should be diverted to evaluating medical devices and diagnostics.
Lord Darzi's report represents a strong endorsement of NICE and acknowledges the confidence and trust we have worked hard to build in the NHS. The additional work we have been given fits well with our current remit and is in line with our vision for the future.
After the report was published we worked closely with the Department of Health and our other partners to determine how we will implement these recommendations and, by doing so, help to bring about a truly evidence-based, quality driven NHS.
This page was last updated: 17 August 2009
