Commenting on the Health Committee’s report on the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, Dr Linda Patterson OBE, clinical vice president of the Royal College of Physicians, said:
We welcome the Health Committee’s report into NICE. The RCP believes that NICE performs an essential role in providing robust evidence for the NHS and other care related sectors and whilst this is often challenging, functions well.
Like the Committee, the RCP welcomes fact that NICE is to take on responsibility for producing clinical guidance and quality standards in relation to social care. However, the evidence base will be different and will need to be robust. Synthesis techniques must also be quality assured if this is to make a similar impact in improving care in the social sector as NICE have traditionally done in the health sector.
The RCP is well placed through its own work (the Future Hospital Commission) to where possible inform NICE’s work programme, a good example of this is the recently commissioned topic of ‘7 day consultant working’. In a climate of service delivery challenges and the increased emphasis on both health and social care, an ageing population and multi-morbidities, NICE are well positioned to utilize their expertise to deliver guidance goes beyond previously published clinical guidance to incorporate social care and public health considerations.
For further information, please contact Linda Cuthbertson, head of PR, on +44 (0)203 075 1254 / 0774 877 7919, or email Linda.Cuthbertson@rcplondon.ac.uk
The RCP hosts the National Clinical Guideline Centre (NCGC), which is a governance collaboration between the RCP and the Royal Colleges of Nursing, General Practitioners and Surgeons and is contracted by NICE to produce clinical guidance in adult acute and chronic conditions.