Standards for NHS Board Members - Policy Review

We were commissioned by the Secretary of State for Health in July 2011 to develop Standards for NHS board members covering personal behaviour, technical competence and business practices. This policy review was the first step of the development process. 

It established that many standards and codes were applicable to NHS board members and that there was some congruence between them particular in terms of their ethical content.

Overview

This review begins by setting out the policy directions from which this project emerged, and some of the key documents that have defined the context.

It then looks at the present and future policy contexts – namely the major reforms planned for the NHS in England, and notes any key policy documents that set out the challenges that NHS senior managers may face under the reforms.

It goes on to examine any existing standards and codes that bear a relevance to this project, namely anything that pertains to ethics, codes of behaviour, and/or financial probity. Common themes will be identified, and anything else of particular interest will be highlighted for possible use in the development of the standards