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Care quality commission declaration

All primary care organisation's must make an annual declaration to the care quality commission (previously known as the healthcare commission) setting out if they are compliant with the department of health's standards for better health. The care quality commission is the independent watchdog for health and social care in England.

The standards for better health set out the level of quality all organisations providing NHS care will be expected to meet or aspire to across the NHS in England. The standards describe the level of quality that all health care organisations, including primary care organisations will be expected to meet in terms of:

  1. Safety
  2. Clinical and cost effectiveness
  3. Governance
  4. Patient focus
  5. Accessible and responsive care
  6. Care environment and amenities
  7. Public health

In each of these domains the individual standards fall into two categories:

  • Core standards: which bring together and rationalise existing requirements for the health service, setting out the minimum level of service patients and service users have a right to expect; and

  • Developmental standards – which signal the direction of travel and provide a framework for NHS bodies to plan the delivery of services which continue to improve in line with increasing patient expectations and or national standards

Northumberland Care Trust's care quality commission declaration for 2008/09 is available to download as a PDF document below.