New watchdog warns on NICE adherence
pharmafile | January 19, 2009 | News story | Sales and Marketing | NICE, hc
The head of the new NHS standards watchdog has indicated that Trusts will be closely monitored for their adherence to NICE guidance.
Baroness Young is chair of the Care Quality Commission, the watchdog which from 1 April this year becomes the first ever single watchdog for all NHS and adult social service providers.
Speaking in December at NICE's conference, Baroness Young said clinical guidance would be "built into" the watchdog's monitoring system.
She said: "There's an opportunity for the registration system and the assessments that follow it to raise the profile of NICE guidance, to highlight [its] importance and to track some of that through the assessment process."
She has warned that compliance with NICE guidance will be closely monitored, and could even be a prerequisite for CQC's 'registration' system of quality checks.
Her comments have attracted a great deal of media attention, with many inferring that Trusts could even face financial penalties for not following guidance.
But an interim spokesman for the CQC said the matter needed to be clarified, and stressed that providers would not "automatically" face penalties for failing to comply with NICE guidelines.
He added: "The CQC will have a range of powers, but we are not intent on using them in a draconian way to impose standards."
The lack of consistency in the uptake of NICE guidance across England and Wales has long been a bone of contention between NHS bodies and government and other stakeholders. NHS trusts insist there must be some flexibility in the uptake of guidance, but critics – including the pharmaceutical industry and patient groups – say this often conceals unacceptable variations and low standards in some areas.
The CQC is now consulting on what quality standards it should use for its new registration system that comes into force in 2010.
Related Content
Combination treatments: Takeda’s Implementation Framework and the broader landscape
Pharmafile talks to Emma Roffe, Oncology Country Head (UK & Ireland) about the combination treatment …
NICE recommends Pfizer’s new once-weekly treatment for haemophilia B on NHS
Walton Oaks, 21st May 2025 – Pfizer Ltd announced today that the National Institute for Health and Care …
Dual immunotherapy for bowel cancer now available under NHS
Dual immunotherapy, a combination of Opdivo (nivolumab) and Yervoy (ipilimumab), has been granted extension in …
