- guardian.co.uk, Thursday May 30 2002 16.51 BST
From waiting lists to hospital league tables, from the Alder Hey organs scandal to the Bristol Royal infirmary inquiry, the performance of the NHS, and the people who work for it, is under scrutiny as never before.
This big issue provides constantly updated news stories, comment and analysis of NHS success and failures, and key policy issues across a range of areas: performance indicators, audit and inspection, quality and safety issues, and medical negligence.
The issue explained reveals why the government has rested much of its political credibility on improving the performance of the NHS and the quality of its services, and how it intends to drive up standards.
There is an extensive guide to the most useful websites on NHS quality and performance - including detailed waiting times, activity statistics and other performance indicators on Department of Health sites. There are also links to related SocietyGuardian.co.uk big issues.
