NHS Confederation responds to NHS England’s performance and assessment framework

Responding to the publication of NHS England’s performance and assessment framework, Sarah Walter, director of the NHS Confederation’s Integrated Care Systems Network, said:

“Our members will welcome this framework, which sets out measures to address the significant operational and fiscal challenges facing the health service. The fact that NHS England will not this financial year place integrated care boards (ICB) into segments based on their performance shows they understand the pressure ICBs are under. It will also give systems an opportunity to focus on making the financial cuts and restructuring required of them in the short-term.

“But it is vital that we strike the right balance between recovery and reform. While we welcome fewer targets, dropping key metrics could result in the omission of measures that would judge how successfully the NHS is implementing the reforms necessary to put it on a sustainable long-term footing, achieve the government’s three shifts and improve long-term outcomes. 

“We also continue to have concerns about the proposals to hold ICBs accountable for all the organisations in their system, while providers are not held to account for the part they have to play in system performance. This calls into question the ability of systems to achieve the three shifts.

“We welcome the commitment to revisit this framework after the ten-year plan, once there is more clarity on the system operating model and the timeline for transferring functions. We would be keen to see a more fundamental reset in 2026/27 with a greater focus on system working and outcomes over activity.”