The proposed principles that will guide the development of the NHS Outcomes Framework are:

• Accountability and transparency
• Balanced
• Focused on what matters to patients and healthcare professionals
• Promoting excellence and equality
• Focused on outcomes that the NHS can influence but working in partnership with other public services where required
• Internationally comparable
• Evolving over time

Further information can be found in the consultation document on page 10, paragraph 2.6.

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The proposed NHS Outcomes Framework is structured around five high level outcome domains. These are intended to cover everything the NHS is there to do. These five domains are:

Effectiveness

1. Preventing people from dying prematurely
2. Enhancing the quality of life for people with long-term conditions
3. Helping people to recover from episodes of ill health or injury

Patient Experience

4. Ensuring people have a positive experience of care

Safety

5. Treating and cating for people in a safe environment and protecting them from avoidable harm

Further information can be found in the consultation document on page 14, paragraph 2.25.

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The NHS Outcomes Framework should recognise the importance of reducing inequalities and promoting equality. For example, because of the social gradient in most health outcomes, the most potential health gain will often be available from the lower reaches of the gradient, from disadvantaged groups and areas.

Further information can be found in the consultation document on page 12, paragraph 2.17

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As far as possible, the NHS (and its constituent parts) will be held to account for outcomes that it alone can influence. For all outcome indicators, where relevant, the NHS Outcomes Framework should identify the extent to which the NHS will be held accountable, as distinct from the contribution of public health interventions and social care services.

There will, of course, be outcomes that can only be delivered for patients and carers if the NHS works in partnership with the new public health service that will be created and with social care services. The Department of Health will be constructing and consulting on outcomes frameworks for these sectors in coming months as part of the integrated cross-service approach in the Spending Review. These will be developed so that strategies can be developed to ensure that organisations provide complementary and integrated services.

Further information can be found in the consultation document on page 12, paragraph 2.19.

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Taking the proposed structure of five high level outcome domains as a starting point, what overarching outcome indicators could be developed for each domain; a method for selecting the specific improvement areas within each domain; and, based on that method, what are some of the potential improvement areas and their supporting outcome indicators.

Further information can be found in the consultation document on page 18, Chapter 3.

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