National Quality Board (NQB) Takes Shape, UK

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 05 Dec 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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- Appointment process for expert and lay representatives begins -

The first appointments to the new National Quality Board (NQB) were announced today by Health Minister Lord Darzi.

Establishing the NQB was a key commitment within High Quality Care for All, Lord Darzi's review of the NHS. The board will play a pivotal role in providing strategic oversight and leadership in quality across the NHS.

The board's membership will comprise of a mix of skills and expertise. Lord Darzi has invited David Nicholson, NHS Chief Executive, to chair the board.

Four members have been appointed from within the Department of Health. They are:

- Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS Medical Director
- Dame Christine Beasley, Chief Nursing Officer
- Sir Liam Donaldson, Chief Medical Officer
- David Behan, Department of Health Director General for Social Care, Local Government and Care Partnerships

Three members have been appointed from key national bodies with close links to the NHS. They are:

- Baroness Young, Chair of the Care Quality Commission
- Bill Moyes, Chair of Monitor
- Mike Rawlins, Chair of NICE

Today, the Appointments Commission has also started a recruitment process to appoint four expert representatives and four lay representatives. We are inviting candidates with a portfolio of skills and experience from a broad variety of backgrounds. These may include professional bodies; patients, service users, carers; frontline NHS staff; universities, industry; charities and international healthcare organisations.

Health Minister Lord Darzi said:

"My review set out a vision for the NHS which has quality as its organising principle. This is a big cultural shift for the health service, which rightly focussed on improving access, cutting waiting times and modernising hospitals over the last 10 years.

"The National Quality Board will play a pivotal role in aligning quality at all levels in the NHS. This will be from clinical teams using quality metrics to improve care at a provider level, right up to SHAs benchmarking their services at a regional level.

"We want the Board to benefit from a wide range of knowledge, experience and skills. That is why as well as expert members from professional bodies and medical academia, we are looking for candidates from patient groups, charities and carer backgrounds. We are also encouraging service users and frontline NHS staff to apply too."

Notes

1. For more information on applying for a post on the National Quality Board, visit the Appointments Commission website: http://www.appointments.org.uk

2. The key functions of the NQB are:

- Ensuring the overall alignment of the quality system
- Delivering on specific technical responsibilities, including those set out in the Next Stage Review.

These are: to oversee the work to improve quality indicators; advise the Secretary of State on the priorities for clinical standards set by NICE; and make an annual report to the Secretary of State on the state of quality in England using internationally agreed comparable measures.

- Assume a wider leadership responsibility for driving the quality agenda and acting as a 'powerhouse for change'.

3. The first meeting of the NQB will be held in the Spring 2009. The Board will meet approximately three times a year.

Appointments Commission

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