Effectively Assessing Risk - Maintaining Quality

The Department of Health (DH) (2009) recommended that successful healthcare services would be integrated, preventative, people-centred and productive. The coalition government has been clear that healthcare will, undergo dramatic changes over the coming years and spending will not rise, cost efficiency savings of £15 -£20 billion must be seen by the end of 2013/14 and need to be reinvested in the service to deliver year on year quality improvements (DH, 2010a). The National Health Service (NHS) will be required to concentrate on improving productivity and eliminating waste while focussing on quality (DH, 2010a). The importance of maintaining and delivering quality care with an ever reducing budget, remains a priority for clinicians and managers, with the DH (2009: 29) stating that there will be ‘safer care for patients, who can be confident that they will be protected from avoidable harm’.