Practitioner Performance Advice, formerly the National Clinical Assessment Service (NCAS), is an organisation that works towards the resolution of concerns about professional practice in healthcare settings across the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. By providing their expertise to assist healthcare organisations and individuals resolve concerns, the work of this organisation contributes to improved patient safety. It currently has 70 staff, now operating as a division of NHS Resolution. It can receive up to 1,000 new referrals each year. At any one time it can be dealing with more than 500 active cases, which the service can often manage from referral to resolution.

History

The National Clinical Assessment Authority was established on 1 April 2001 as a special health authority. It initially operated as a service within England for NHS doctors, although this has been extended by various agreements. It was renamed National Clinical Assessment Service when it merged with the

National Patient Safety Agency The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) was a special health authority of the National Health Service (NHS) in England. It was established in 2001 to monitor patient safety incidents, including medication and prescribing error reporting, in the ...

in 2005. It transferred out of the agency into the

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care. As the national health technology assessment body of England, it is responsible for j ...

, where it was hosted for a period of one year from 1 April 2012. It joined the NHS Litigation Authority on 1 April 2013.

Working with regulatory bodies

It works with various regulatory bodies. In December 2011 the

General Dental Council The General Dental Council (GDC) is an organisation which regulates dental professionals in the United Kingdom. It keeps an up-to-date register of all qualified dentists and other dental care professionals such as: dental hygienists, dental ther ...

announced that it would be using it to obtain advice at an earlier stage when complaints were made about dental professionals. It has an agreement with the

General Medical Council The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of physician, medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the pu ...

which has been in effect since May 2013.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Health policy in the United Kingdom Patient safety