Patients will have to travel further to receive better care

Patients will have to travel further to receive better care:

A wide-reaching review into acute healthcare provision in the region won’t lead to huge changes for patients in north Northamptonshire, health bosses have said. Evening Telegraph

National Audit of Dementia

The Royal College of Psychiatrists National Audit of Dementia is working with hospitals providing general acute inpatient services to measure criteria relating to care delivery which are known to impact on people with dementia admitted to hospital. 

You can find the executive summary here

You can find the full report here

Troubleshooters to help 'troubled' families

Troubleshooters to help 'troubled' families: Louise Casey heads up the 'Troubled Families Team' with a budget of £448m Public Services

Services for people with neurological conditions

Services for people with neurological conditions: These services are not as good as they ought to be, despite a large increase in spending. National Audit Office

Report of the Steering Group on Remediation

Report of the Steering Group on Remediation:
In January 2010, the Department of Health established a Steering Group to consider

remediation, focussing on managing competence and capability issues in the small minority of doctors where there is concern about their health, conduct, clinical

competence and capability.

Many members of the Group had considerable personal experience of tackling clinical

competence and capability problems and were able to draw upon this experience as

well as the Department of Health survey and other recent work in developing their

ideas.In looking at how remediation could be better managed, the Group made six broad

recommendations:

• Performance problems, including clinical competence and capability issues, should normally be managed locally wherever possible
• Local processes need to be strengthened so as to avoid performancemproblems wherever possible, and to reduce their severity at the point ofmidentification;
• The capacity of staff within organisations to deal with performance concerns needs to be increased with access to necessary external expertise as require
• A single organisation is required to advise and, when necessary, to co­ordinate the remediation process and case management so as to improveconsistency across the service;
• The medical Royal Colleges to produce guidance and provide assessmentand specialist input into remediation programmes;
• Postgraduate deaneries and all those involved in training and assessment need to assure their assessment processes so that any problems arising during training are addressed

Report of the Steering Group on Remediation

BMA publishes authorisation guidance for CCGs

BMA publishes authorisation guidance for CCGs: The BMA has made a number of recommendations and highlighted its concerns over government plans for the future of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) as they approach authorisation. GP Online

Person-based resource allocation

Person-based resource allocation: The Nuffield Trust has published a research summary 'Person-based resource allocation: new approaches to estimating commissioning budgets for GP practices'. This summary provides an outline of person-based resource allocation, why it was developed, and how. The report is aimed primarily at GP and commissioning leaders, policy-makers, and senior managers in the NHS. It summarises the approach developed in a series of analyses over time and is based on work by a range of organisations.

Competition, integration and incentives

Competition, integration and incentives: The Nuffield Trust has also published a Viewpoint by Provost of Harvard University, Professor Alan Garber, which provides a US expert view on the question of how best to balance incentives to promote innovation in the NHS. 'Competition, integration and incentives: the quest for efficiency in the English NHS' provides insight into the factors that improve health system performance. While sympathetic to integration as a way of delivering higher performance, Professor Garber warns against the blanket dismissal of competition, observing that when it comes to the organisation of health services 'we don't know which approach works best'. A competitive, flexible approach to delivery is, he argues, more likely to encourage innovation.

Raising a concern with CQC: A quick guide for health and care staff about whistleblowing

Raising a concern with CQC: A quick guide for health and care staff about whistleblowing: Source: Care Quality Commission (CQC)

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published a quick guide on whistleblowing for health and care professionals who need to raise a concern about their workplace. It provides advice on speaking out about poor care and what protection there is from the law.

Health Survey for England - 2010

Health Survey for England - 2010: Source: NHS Information Centre

The Health Survey for England is part of a programme of surveys commissioned by The NHS Information Centre for health and social care. It provides information on a range of aspects concerning the public's health and many of the factors that affect health. The series of Health Surveys for England was designed to monitor trends in the nation's health, to estimate the proportion of people in England who have specified health conditions, and to estimate the prevalence of certain risk factors and combinations of risk factors associated with these conditions. The survey is also used to monitor progress towards selected health targets. The main focus of the survey in 2010 was respiratory health and lung function. Additional areas covering contraception and sexual health, wellbeing, kidney disease and dental health.

Foundation trusts reveal wage bill cuts

Foundation trusts reveal wage bill cuts: At least five foundation trusts predict wage bill cuts of 10% or more. Healthcare Today

Preventative care and early intervention in mental health - The Guardian

Preventative care and early intervention in mental health - The Guardian:

The Guardian

Preventative care and early intervention in mental health The Guardian At any one time in London, one in six adults suffers mental health symptoms and suicide is the biggest killer of young men in the capital. The issue was raised at a recent London assembly health and public services committee meeting. ... AMs call for regional supervision of mental health servicesMayorWatch New ways of working across blue light services are key to future success for ...Bapco Journal all 6 news articles »

Five million children get wrong dose of penicillin dose

Five million children get wrong dose of penicillin dose:

Almost five million children who are prescribed penicillin each year for infections are getting too little of the antibiotic to be effective, putting them at risk of serious complications. The Independent

RCN expresses concern over dementia report

RCN expresses concern over dementia report: The Royal College of Nursing has said it is ‘extremely worrying’ that the majority of staff who responded to a recent survey say that their training and development in the field of dementia care is not sufficient.