This monograph, based on Professor Maynard’s remarks at the 20th OHE Annual Lecture, explores the critical issue of ensuring the quality of care in the NHS. The lecture was delivered just five months after release of the Francis Report, which was the result of a public inquiry into serious failures in patient care at the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. As with many such inquiries in the past, Francis’s recommendations envisioned more regulation. But what the NHS needs, Professor Maynard writes, is not more regulation but better regulation, based on reliable evidence and economics.

In this publication, Professor Maynard traces the history of crucial issues in health care quality. He advocates for better use of evidence about outcomes and for effective incentives, both financial and non-financial, to achieve lasting improvement in the quality of health care.

The slides used in Professor Maynard’s presentation also are available — please click here.