An Introduction to the Dr Foster Ethics Committee

By Dr Jack Tinker, dean of the Royal Society of Medicine and chair of the committee

Dr Foster is an independent organisation created to produce the most comprehensive and authoritative measures of health service performance.

The research Dr Foster has undertaken with Imperial College school of science, technology and medicine and its other partners marks a new departure in openness not just within the NHS, but also the private sector. The researchers have gone to exceptional lengths to ensure the robustness of the data collection and worked with many experts in the field, as well as hospitals themselves, to do so.

It is important to understand that Dr Foster does not rate hospitals. It provides information, which can be used to compare their standards and services on a variety of levels. There is no one over-riding measure which makes them either good or bad. Their performance needs to be considered on a number of levels - by trust, by hospital and by unit and from different perspectives - the patient experience as well as by clinical outcomes.

One of the most important features of the Dr Foster initiative is to help people understand how best to use this information and, in this way, to help them make the most of their local hospital. Dr Foster is intended to help patients and their GPs make the most informed decisions about where to obtain the best healthcare.

Any credible venture concerning the communication and documentation of information relies on valid data acquired by the highest standards of research.

Dr Foster, to ensure that these fundamental criteria are in place and are constantly reviewed, has established an independent ethics committee, which I chair. The committee is a legal company, limited by guarantee, which is independent of Dr Foster Ltd. It has a deed of covenant with Dr Foster, which gives it powers to enforce Dr Foster's code of conduct.

The committee has legal powers to regulate and monitor the work of Dr Foster and also to adjudicate on any complaints that may arise. It will convene on a regular basis and ensure that Dr Foster complies with an appropriate code of conduct.

The idea of creating guides to health service standards and services is fraught with difficulty. It is an undertaking which, to be acceptable, requires consensus on all sides - from patient representatives, healthcare professionals and government itself. This and future initiatives by Dr Foster will be the committee's main agenda for the immediate future.

If you would like further information on the Ethics Committee or to contact us, please write to:

Dr Jack Tinker
Chairman
Dr Foster Ethics Committee
12 Smithfield Street,
London
EC1A 9LA

email: ethics@drfoster.co.uk