NICE standards

Last week saw the inauguration of the National Institute for Clinical Standards (NICE) - a body charged with identifying best practice and raising standards within the NHS. Sir Michael Rawlins, professor of pharmacology at Newcastle University, was appointed chairman and membership of the six-strong board was named. A key role of the new body will be to ensure fairness in the provision of treatment across the country, said Frank Dobson. This could have important repercussions for treatments such as in vitro fertilisation where NHS provision varies between health authorities.