NHS trusts need to do more to meet essential standards
18 June 2009
All NHS trusts have now declared whether they are meeting core safety and quality standards.
Overall, these declarations suggest that NHS trusts have made important improvements over the past four years:
- 9 out of 10 trusts say they meet at least 90% of our essential standards;
- more trusts say they meet standards that have proved challenging for the NHS in the past.
However, we are concerned that:
- only half of trusts say they meet all current standards;
- there is significant variation between regions;
- fewer trusts say they meet key standards on child protection, safety and employment checks.
We want NHS trusts to do more to meet government core standards. The declarations are a key indicator whether a trust will meet our new registration requirements. NHS trusts risk strict conditions on their licence to operate in the future if they don't improve.
Download the NHS trusts declarations (XLS, 425KB, opens in new window)
- Listen to our comments about this year's NHS declarations
- Read our press release to find out more about this year's NHS trusts declarations
The declarations are the first stage of our annual NHS performance assessment. We will carry out rigorous checks to decide whether a trust's declaration is accurate, including:
- thousands of items of performance data
- information from patients and the public, including LINks
- information from inspections
