Dentists to be ranked in new NHS league table

The Government has announced plans to rank every NHS trust in England, including community dental providers, in a league table of key performance metrics.

Every quarter, dental services will be ranked against what the government described as ‘clear, consistent standards’.

And, while the exact metrics they will be measured against have not been announced, patient feedback will play a central role, it is believed.

Those trusts with the highest scores will be awarded greater freedoms and investment, allowing them to shape their services around local need; while lower-ranking providers will receive targeted support to drive improvement.

The Department of Health and Social Care said this ‘marks a new era of transparency and accountability in the NHS’ which will ‘end the postcode lottery in care’.

The initiative is part of the Government’s Plan for Change, which it says will create an NHS that is ‘fit for the future’.

Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, said: “We must be honest about the state of the NHS to fix it.

“Patients and taxpayers have to know how their local NHS services are doing compared to the rest of the country. 

“These league tables will identify where urgent support is needed and allow high-performing areas to share best practises with others, taking the best of the NHS to the rest of the NHS. 

“Patients know when local services aren’t up to scratch and they want to see an end to the postcode lottery – that’s what this government is doing.

“We’re combining the extra £26bn investment each year with tough reforms to get value for money, with every pound helping to cut waiting times for patients.’

Sir Jim Mackey, chief executive of NHS England, added: “NHS staff across the country work flat out to deliver the highest standard of care to their patients and every day we see or hear fantastic examples of this, but we still have far too much unwarranted local variation in performance. 

“Letting patients and the public access more data will help to drive improvement even faster by supporting them to identify where they should demand even better from their NHS and by putting more power their hands to make informed decisions on their choice of provider. 

“The data also supports local NHS trust boards and leadership teams to more easily identify the highest performing services in the NHS and adapt how they deliver care to drive improvement even faster going forward.”

And Louise Ansari, chief executive of Healthwatch England, said the proposal would be ‘good news for everyone’.

She added: “People value the hard work of NHS staff, but it’s frustrating when services fail to operate effectively, so a fresh approach to improving NHS performance is welcome.”

But there have been some concerns over the move, with former NHS England chief executive, Matthew Taylor, saying: “The prospect of more ‘league tables’ will concern health leaders, as these can strip out important underlying information.

“NHS staff are doing their very best for patients under very-challenging circumstances and we do not want them feeling like they are being named and shamed.

“League tables in themselves do not lead to improvement, trusts struggling with consistent performance issues – some of which reflect contextual issues such as underlying population heath and staff shortages – need to be identified and supported in order to recover.”