UK sets medtech challenges for upcoming hospitals:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
UK hospitals aspiring to gain NHS Foundation Trust status will need to demonstrate the technical capacity to implement the guidance of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), according to criteria announced today (July 25 2002). The new trusts will operate independently from central government, while remaining accountable at local level to provide care to NHS patients within a framework of national standards guaranteed through statute. This greater freedom will "unleash entrepreneurialism and innovation in the national health service," claims the government. Subject to legislation, the first NHS Foundation Trusts will become fully operational from April 2004.