Reconfiguring the Department of Health’s Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs) (external link)
The Department of Health’s Arm’s Length Bodies Review is part of a wider programme to improve efficiency and cut bureaucracy in the management of the NHS.

The abolition of the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health (CPPIH) was proposed for the summer of 2007. The exact date has not been announced. The abolition will require the passing of primary legislation to repeal the provisions set out in statute for CPPIH to exist. Therefore, the date on which CPPIH is abolished is dependent on parliamentary time, and the passage of legislation. Patients’ Forums will be replaced with LINKs These will be the “cornerstone” of the arrangements for patients and the public to influence health services.

The Healthcare Commission (external link) is a statutory body which promotes improvement in the quality of the NHS and independent healthcare. It has a statutory duty to assess the performance of healthcare organisations, award annual performance ratings for the NHS and coordinate reviews of healthcare by others. The Healthcare Commission took over the second stage, independent review, of the NHS complaints procedure in England from July 30th 2004.

The National Patient Safety Agency (external link)
The NPSA is a Special Health Authority created in July 2001 to co-ordinate the efforts of the entire country to report, and more importantly to learn from mistakes and problems that affect patient safety. It collects reports from throughout the country and initiate preventative measures, so that the whole country can learn from each case, and patient safety throughout the NHS can be improved.

From 1 April 2005, the NPSA’s work also encompasses: safety aspects of hospital design, cleanliness and food (transferred from NHS Estates); ensuring research is carried out safely, through its responsibility for the Central Office for Research Ethics Committees (COREC); and is supporting local organisations in addressing their concerns about the performance of individual doctors and dentists, through its responsibility for the National Clinical Assessment Service (NCAS), formerly known as the National Clinical Assessment Authority. It also manages the contracts with the three confidential enquiries. This responsibility has been transferred from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE).

NHS Litigation Authority (external link)
The NHSLA is a special Health Authority and part of the NHS.
They

• indemnify NHS bodies in respect of both clinical negligence and non-clinical risks and manage claims and litigation under both headings
• have risk management programmes in place against which NHS Trusts are assessed
• are the legal defendant in respect of the outstanding clinical negligence liabilities of the former Regional Health Authorities.

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (external link)
The Parliamentary Ombudsman and the Health Service Ombudsman undertake independent investigations into complaints about government departments, a range of other public bodies, and the National Health Service.

The Parliamentary Ombudsman investigates complaints that injustice has been caused by maladministration on the part of the government departments or other public bodies. The Health Service Ombudsman investigates complaints that a hardship or injustice has been caused by the NHS's failure to provide a service, by a failure in service, or by maladministration.
Both posts are held by Ann Abraham since 4 November 2002.

Local Government Ombudsman (external link)

Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) (external link)
The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) is the single inspectorate for social care. It combines the work of the Social Services Inspectorate (SSI), the SSI/ Audit Commission joint review team and the National Care Standards Commission (NCSC).

The Commission for Racial Equality (external link)
A publicly funded, non-governmental body set up under the Race Relations Act 1976 to tackle racial discrimination and promote racial equality.

The Disability Rights Commission (external link)
an independent body, established by Act of Parliament to eliminate discrimination against disabled people and promote equality of opportunity.

The Equal Opportunities Commission (external link)
the leading agency working to eliminate sex discrimination in 21st Century Britain.

Independent professional regulation

Professional Misconduct in the NHS
Complainants seeking disciplinary action against a member of staff should complain to the professional body who holds their registration - the General Medical Council (external link) for doctors the Nursing and Midwifery Council (external link) (previously UKCC) for nurses and midwives etc. Dentists are regulated by the General Dental Council (external link) Pharmacists are regulated by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (external link)Opticians are regulated by the General Optical Council  (external link).

The thirteen UK health and social care regulators have recently produced an innovative, new information leaflet about their work and how to contact them.(external link) They are keen to increase patient and public awareness about their role in setting standards and dealing with professional misconduct.

These professional bodies generally only look at complaints against their members once the NHS complaints’ procedure has been concluded.

Health Professions Council (external link)
The Health Professions Council (HPC) is a new, independent, UK-wide statutory regulatory body that has been set up to regulate 13 health professions. The HPC replaces the old Council for Professions Supplementary to Medicine (CPSM). A list of the professions it regulates is at http://www.hpc-uk.org/professions/index.htm(external link) The HPC does not regulate doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists or opticians/optometrists.

Council for Regulation of Healthcare Professions (CRHP) (external link)
CRHP is a statutory overarching body, covering all of the United Kingdom and separate from Government, established from April 2003. It promotes best practice and consistency in the regulation of healthcare professionals by the following nine regulatory bodies:

• General Medical Council
• General Dental Council
• General Optical Council
• General Osteopathic Council
• General Chiropractic Council
• Health Professions Council
• Nursing and Midwifery Council
• Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain
• Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland

Its role is

• promoting the interests of the public and patients in the field of the regulation of health professionals
• reporting annually to Parliament on CRHP’s work, with discretion to report on the performance of individual regulatory bodies and to compare their performance of similar functions.

It can also refer a regulator’s final decision on a fitness to practise case to the High Court (or its equivalent throughout the UK) for the protection of the public.

The Independent Healthcare Association (external link) is an Independent Charity, dedicated to improving standards of health and social care in the UK.

Independent Police Complaints Commission (external link) (previously Police Complaints Authority)
The IPCC has teams of investigators headed by Regional Directors in each of its regions, to assist with supervision and management of some police investigations. They also carry out independent investigations into serious incidents or allegations of misconduct by persons serving with the police.

Legal Action

The Legal Services Commission (external link) which has replaced the Legal Aid Board, administers the funding schemes for civil and criminal cases under the general guidance of the Lord Chancellor. They have produced several practical guides to obtaining community legal service funding including the eligibility criteria.

Free specialist advice for clients on taking legal action, is available from the charity Action against Medical Accidents (AVMA). (external link)

Clinical governance

Benchmarks for how NHS bodies should learn from complaints are available from the Modernisation Agency’s Clinical Governance Support Team (external link) and from the Clinical Governance Bulletin. (external link) These benchmarks also apply to independent providers of services for NHS patients.

Essence of Care: patient focused benchmarks for clinical governance (NHS Modernisation Agency, April 2003) (external link)
The Clinical Governance Research and Development Unit (CGRDU) http://www.le.ac.uk/genpractice/gpaudit/ was established in April 1999 and is involved in several programmes of R&D in relation to clinical governance (especially in a Primary Care setting). This Web site provides information on clinical audit training courses, projects in progress, recent publications, and staff and their research interests.

Managing complaints for service improvement - programme of accredited education and training (external link)

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