Consultations are always useful sources of information, background, and analysis of a particular sector. The NHS Commissioning Board recently launched a consultation on “service specifications and clinical policies”. These, they say, are “important in clearly defining what the NHS Commissioning Board expects to be in place for providers to offer evidence-based, safe and effective services.” Most importantly:

“Core standards are those that any reasonable provider of safe and effective services should be able to demonstrate, with developmental standards being those that really stretch services over time to provide excellence in the field.”

So this is about what standards we will hold providers of health services to. 

The consultation closes on January 18, with a report published in “early 2013.” – make a note to look out for it.

Meanwhile, there’s a lot more detail and background in the links on the consultation page, which divides it into five areas:

• Area A – Internal medicine (digestion, renal, hepatobiliary, and circulatory system)
• Area B – Cancer and blood (infection, cancer, immunity and haematology)
• Area C – Mental health
• Area D – Trauma (traumatic injury, orthopaedics, head and neck, and rehabilitation)
• Area E – Women and children (women and children, and congenital and inherited diseases)

Each of those contains more links to documents about specific conditions and considerations.