Taking Standards for Better Health Forward in East Kent Coastal Teaching Primary Care Trust: A staff development project exploring pathways towards implementation of standards of care - Final Report

The publication of Standards for Better Health in February 2004 has re-emphasised the importance of the delivery of high quality care. As Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) are now making a major contribution towards the achievement of these standards in the primary care arena, there is an urgent need to assess the local managerial and clinical infrastructure necessary for their implementation. Given that PCT structural and organisational changes are imminent across the UK (DoH 2005), it will be important to capture current information on how standards are understood and applied. This is particularly so in relation to revealing good models of practice, in order to promote knowledge transfer and uniformity of approach within the new structures. This report describes an eight month project funded by East Kent Coastal Teaching PCT that sought the views of primary care workers in relation to standards of care and their implementation. Specifically, the project:

? describes current knowledge, understanding, attitudes and infrastructures surrounding clinical standards

? ascertains what is needed to work towards implementing best practice within the seven standard domains of Standards for Better Health

? makes recommendations for policy and practice