The annual health check

The results of the most recent annual health check were published on 18 October 2007.

The annual health check is the most important of the Healthcare Commission’s activities to drive improvements in healthcare for patients. It involves assessing and rating the performance of each NHS trust in England during the financial year from 1 April to 31 March.  When doing so, we look at a wide range of areas, from the overall quality of care – including  safety of patients, cleanliness and waiting times – to how well trusts manage their finances.

What we look at during a trust’s annual health check

First, we look at whether the trust is getting the basics of healthcare right. Then we look at whether it has been taking steps to make and sustain ongoing improvements in the healthcare it provides.

Getting the basics right

The essential, basic elements of a trust’s performance are:

• How well the trust has met Department of Health (DH) core standards and existing national targets for NHS healthcare providers
• How effectively the trust manages its financial resources. Our assessment of this draws on work carried out by the Audit Commission and by Monitor, the regulator of NHS foundation trusts

Making and sustaining progress

To assess whether a trust is making and sustaining improvements in the care it provides, we look at its performance against the DH’s new national targets for NHS healthcare organisations.

Find out more

This year’s annual health check (2007/2008)
Last year’s annual health check (2006/2007)

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