The White Paper, The New NHS, set out the plans for modernising the Health Service and included the establishment of a rolling programme of National Service Frameworks. National Service Frameworks (NSFs) set national standards and define service models for a specific service or care group, put in place programmes to support implementation and establish performance measures against which progress within an agreed timescale can be measured.

To set national standards and define service models, each NSF includes an assessment of the health and social care needs to be addressed, the evidence on effective and efficient interventions and organisational arrangements, the present position and the issues to be tackled, resource implications and the timescales for change.

NSFs address the whole system of care and require partnerships with a wide range of organisations. These may include social care providers, the wider local authority, the voluntary sector and business and industry.

Each of the NSFs are supplemented with an Information Strategy. The NSF implementation programme will therefore be underpinned by robust information management and appropriate IT systems. These need to be developed as an integral part of the Electronic Patient Record.

NSFs to date include Cancer Services, Mental Health, Diabetes, Older People, Paediatric Intensive Care, Renal Services, Coronary Heart Disease and the Childrens National Service Framework.

To find out more about NSFs click here: National Serivice Frameworks