NHS Outcomes Framework (NHS OF)

The NHS Outcomes Framework (NHS OF) indicators provide national level accountability for the outcomes the NHS delivers.

Update December 2023:

The proposals from the review of the NHS Outcomes Framework (NOF) announced in March 2023 are now being presented as part of a wider consultation on statistical outputs which was released on 12th December 2023. Users can contribute to this consultation by following the "Health and Social Care Statistical Outputs Consultation" link in the "Resources" section below.

As part of the consultation, it is proposed that only a limited number of NOF indicators will still be published by NHS England on an annual basis. For most of the existing NOF indicators, users will be directed to source data via web links. The NHS OF Indicators - Data Source Links file in the “Resources” section below has been expanded to detail alternative data sources in addition to those previously signposted to in the NHS Outcomes Framework.

The file “NHS Outcomes Framework - Proposed future of indicators” in the “Resources” section below lists the indicators that NHS England is proposing to continue and those where users will be directed to source data. As part of the wider statistical consultation, users are asked to comment on the proposed groupings.

While the consultation takes place, we are intending to release data for indicators that are proposed to continue in the near future, as availability of source data allows.

Following the results from the consultation, we will review the future presentation of the NHS Outcomes Framework indicators.

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Between 12 February 2021 and 12 March 2021, NHS Digital consulted on a proposal to change the frequency of the NHS Outcomes Framework publication from quarterly to annual, and for the August 2021 release to be the final quarterly publication.

A summary of responses, as well as future recommendations, is available in the 'NHS OF Responses to Consultation and NHS Digital Recommendations' document available from the resources section below.

NHS OF will be published on an annual basis from March 2022 onwards. The August 2021 release was the final quarterly publication.

NHS Digital has also released an 'NHS OF Data Source Links' document as a supplement to the consultation response document. This is also available from the resources section below. It provides a list of links to underlying source data, as well as links to alternative data sources where available, for all NHS OF indicators. This is intended to assist users access the most timely available data in between publication refreshes.