BMJ  2003;327:184 (26 July), doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7408.184

News

Star rating system fails to reduce variation

Doctors, managers, and opposition MPs attacked the NHS star rating system last week. Would it be improved if it measured health outcomes and allowed for more local input? Zosia Kmietowicz reports

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The publication of star ratings for all NHS trusts in England last week (19 July, p 119) has raised many questions about the value and purpose of this latest government backed appraisals system.

It is two years since the health service league table was first published, and although the system has been overhauled and transferred to independent assessors during that time there is little evidence of what has been achieved. What do the ratings really show, and are they in any way meaningful to the patient who is waiting for hip replacement surgery or a cardiac bypass or who wants to have a home birth?

The government's purpose in introducing . . . [Full text of this article]

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