The current Indicators for Quality Improvement (IQI) are only an initial list, based on existing indicators. This is just the start of a process to develop and build and extensive menu covering a wide range of services. The NHS Information Centre and Department of Health will work further with NHS and professional stakeholder organisations to develop a wider range of indicators in many areas.

Nursing

The Department of Health are working with external partners to develop a set of nurse sensitive outcome indicators. Each indicator has a single definition and a suggested measurement approach across nursing regardless of the care setting.

These outcome indicators will help nurses, clinicians, commissioners and the public measure and see the outcomes of care. These indicators will support quality improvement across the NHS and social care. The initial three nursing outcome indicators are framed to support the High Impact Action for Nursing and Midwifery: to prevent falls, pressure ulcers and urinary infections from the use of catheters. The current indicators will be considered for inclusion into the Indicators for Quality Improvement. A second wave of additional nurse sensitive outcomes indicators in are in development.

• View the Department of Health's outline of the proposed indicators

Primary Care

The initial menu is made up of existing indicators. The primary care indicators that are included come largely from the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF). This does not mean that these QOF indicators are more important than other QOF indicators, or that other QOF indicators are not "assured". The QOF indicators included have been chosen because of their relevance to the care pathways set out in the menu.

The Indicators for Quality Improvement (IQI) will build on existing processes for developing and assuring primary care indicators, and is not meant to stifle local innovation in measuring quality; it is the start of a process to bring together a robust set of indicators as a resource for local clinical teams from which they can select as the basis for local quality improvement. Primary Care is a crucially important area. The NHS Information Centre and Department of Health intend to work with the NHS and professional stakeholder organisations to develop a wider range of quality indicators across primary care, including dentistry.

Current developments include working with PCTs on benchmarking, independent and transparency in reviewing QOF indicators and developing the GP patient survey.

A Clinical Effectiveness and Outcomes Group, is looking at developing quality indicators for dental pathways and dental health outcomes, while the Dental Access Programme is also looking at Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to help PCTs in procurement and contracting of new services.

Mental Health

Our consultation on quality indicators in late 2008 included 17 adult mental health indicators. These received good feedback both in the consultation process itself and through less formal feedback from key NHS stakeholders. The Department of Health and NHS stakeholders are continuing to build on that starting point following the principle of co-production. As the Indicators for Quality Improvement are developed, we expect a much stronger representation of indicators relating to secondary care.

Separately, Strategic Health Authorities, PCTs and mental health provider organisations are continuing their local work on the development and use of outcome indicators for mental health and to build on the refresh of the World Class Commissioning indicators this summer.

Additionally, The NHS Information Centre now publishes the Mental Health Minimum Dataset.

Maternity

Indicators for Quality Improvement has nine agreed indicators for Maternity and the Newborn. These quality indicators have been designed to use existing national data collections but do not constrain what indicators may be used from local schemes.

The next steps in further development of Indicators for Quality Improvement for maternity and the newborn will be to identify the priority standards from the whole maternity pathway under the headings of Safety, Effectiveness and Patient Experience and then define which may be feasible using existing data collection. The process will be linked to the proposed National Maternity Dataset to ensure consistency. We will consult with stakeholders to encourage ownership of the Quality Indicators.

Allied Health Professionals

The Indicators for Quality Improvement offer real opportunities for allied health professionals (AHPs) to measure the contribution they make to high quality patient care, but this is only the start of the story.

Many AHPs contributed directly to the development of this menu during the consultation process. The indicators that AHPs collect locally will be reflected in the organisations' quality accounts and will influence the way that the menu evolves.

AHPs can continue to contribute to the evolution of the quality landscape in several ways:

• join the local AHP networks run by their SHA AHP Lead
• work with their quality lead on developing indicators and embedding the indicators they use across the organisation
• contribute by making suggestions for the menu to mqi@ic.nhs.uk

The Department of Health has collaborated with the AHP professional bodies to collect and collate those indicators used by AHPs to measure clinical effectiveness, patient safety and patient experience. Some of these can be found in this initial assured menu, and as the infrastructure to measure AHP services outcomes develops, the menu will evolve to take on board our findings.

Community Services

See our page on developing indicators for community services.

• Access the Indicators for Quality Improvement