Commentary on Sections The health service: overview Section 2 - The Secretary of State’s duty as to improvement in quality of services
75.This section inserts new section 1A into the NHS Act. This new section creates a duty on the Secretary of State to act with a view to securing continuous improvement in the quality of individuals’ healthcare.
76.Subsection (1) of new section 1A details the duty on the Secretary of State to exercise the functions conferred on the Secretary of State in relation to the health service in a way that would secure continuous improvements in the quality of services provided as part of the health service. This includes both the Secretary of State’s public health functions (the prevention of illness and the protection or improvement in public health) and those functions that the Secretary of State exercises in relation to the NHS along with the NHS Commissioning Board and CCGs (the diagnosis and treatment of illness). Any service that is associated with both public health and the NHS, such as screening, also comes within the ambit of this duty. The duty is therefore comprehensive. In discharging this duty, the Secretary of State must have regard to the NICE quality standards.
77.Subsection (2) of new section 1A specifies that, in discharging this duty, the Secretary of State must focus on securing continuous improvement in the quality of outcomes achieved from health services. This duty is also placed on the NHS Commissioning Board and on CCGs by later sections in this Part. In keeping with the policy set out in the White Paper Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS (2), the outcomes are to focus particularly on the effectiveness, safety and patient experience aspects of healthcare (subsection (3) of new section 1A).