NHS Trusts giving incorrect data on their performance

10 Mar 2010

A BBC Panorama programme has revealed that more than 60% of NHS trusts have given inaccurate information when assessing their performance.

The information is provided to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and then used to rate Trusts. The accuracy of these ratings is being called into question following these revelations.

The CQC monitors this self-regulation by spot checking around 20% of trusts each year. During these checks the CQC found that a number of trusts had made errors in their self-assessment,

Peterborough Hospital Trust was one trust found to have provided inaccurate information, with the CQC finding the Trust had misrepresented its performance in three out of the four areas monitored.

The Government has said that changes will be made in April to place Trusts under more scrutiny and help tackle issues with self-assessment.

Tim Deeming, a medical law expert from Irwin Mitchell said: “In order to ensure that patients have confidence in the care provided by the NHS, Trusts need to comply with the audit criteria set out. Without this people will continue to question what steps are being taken to put safety first, so that lessons are learnt across the UK”.

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