Conclusion and Next Steps

Several things stand out from this report: 

• Generally high standards of care quality across the sector, as assessed by the independent regulator expert regulator. 
  
  
• A clear improvement trend over the past few years, from a base that was already well above the national average. 
  
  
• Consistency in outstanding provision across groups, demonstrating that truly excellent care can be replicated. 

These achievements stem from our members’ self-reflection, hard work and determination. As the representative association for independent providers, IHPN is proud of those achievements, but we are not complacent. 

We believe all areas can be improved, even those that are already rated outstanding. There is always scope to finesse, identify issues that may have fall through the net, share insights and learn from others. This is a responsibility that belongs to all individual providers, IHPN as the association that brings them together, and the wider healthcare system. 

In response, IHPN is pleased to commit to a programme of work that includes: 

• Maintain and where appropriate update initiatives such as the Medical Practitioners Assurance Framework.
   
• Deliver an ongoing programme to share learning among members. 
  
  
• Facilitate challenge to and alongside our members to ask difficult questions about weaknesses and how we can improve further. 
  
  
• Build dialogue with partners to ensure independent providers can participate in programmes that improve quality and safety. 
  
  
• Revisit this publication in the future to monitor progress, expand its scope to cover other areas of quality, and widen the picture to cover all four nations in the UK. 

We look forward to meeting this challenge over the year ahead and we welcome the engagement that we are confident will follow from independent providers, wider stakeholders, and everyone who has an interest in high quality healthcare, including most importantly of all, patients.