Policy paper: NHS Mandate 2014 to 2015

Policy paper: NHS Mandate 2014 to 2015

This document sets out the ambitions for the health service for April 2014 to March 2015. It ensures that the Mandate to the NHS: April 2013 to March 2015, remains up to date and relevant, and was produced following a public consultation. To provide stability, and to ensure the Mandate remains focused on outcomes and affordable, changes have been kept to an essential minimum.

The NHS Mandate is structured around 5 main areas where the government expects NHS England to make improvements:

• preventing people from dying prematurely
• enhancing quality of life for people with long-term conditions
• helping people to recover from episodes of ill health or following injury
• ensuring that people have a positive experience of care
• treating and caring for people in a safe environment and protecting them from avoidable harm

The Mandate reaffirms the government’s commitment to an NHS that remains available to all, based on clinical need and not ability to pay - and that is able to meet patients’ needs and expectations now and in the future.  Department of Health

• NHS England welcomes refreshed Mandate from the Government

Britain's old age 'time bomb' may have been exaggerated, say experts

Britain's old age 'time bomb' may have been exaggerated, say experts
The so-called old age “time bomb” – the anticipated burden that our ageing population will place on taxpayers – may have been exaggerated, experts have said.  Independent

NHS shake-up proposes two-tier A&E

NHS shake-up proposes two-tier A&E
A two-tier A&E system in England should be created as part of an overhaul of services, NHS chiefs are proposing.  BBC News

• NHS Confederation comments on Sir Bruce Keogh's review of urgent and emergency care
• The real issues behind the A&E shakeup | Analysis  Guardian
• The biggest shake-up of emergency care in decades: Top doctor calls for two-tier NHS to introduce A&E system  Independent

Realising the benefits of employee engagement

Realising the benefits of employee engagement
Foundation Trust Network (FTN) - 
This publication examines the link between employee engagement and quality of care. It presents the evidence for supporting employee engagement and discusses the barriers to implementation.

• Report 
• FTN - news

Government response: Boost in specialist mental health midwives to combat post-natal depression: Government statement

Government response: Boost in specialist mental health midwives to combat post-natal depression: Government statement

According to a recent report by the NSPCC, only around half of the country currently has access to specialised maternal mental health staff. Under new plans, national training body Health Education England (HEE) will make sure there is enough training in perinatal mental health so there are specialist staff available for each and every birthing unit by 2017.

Mental health issues affect around 10 per cent of women either when pregnant or after their baby is born. If untreated, mental illness can have a devastating impact on families and affect the ability of a mother to properly bond with her baby. In extreme cases, perinatal mental illness can be life-threatening – suicide is one of the leading causes of maternal death in the UK. Specialist mental health midwives and healthcare professionals have an important role in helping women during pregnancy and beyond.

Health Minister Dr Dan Poulter said;

We want to do everything we can to make sure women and families get as much support as possible throughout pregnancy and beyond, and we need to see a step change in the quality of mental health support available in the perinatal period.

Specialist mental health doctors and midwives are crucial in helping women at risk of suffering from depression, and we will ensure that there are enough trained mental health midwives for the whole country. This means women will be much more likely to get the help and support they need, which will go on to have huge benefits for families and children.

We are already increasing the number of midwives and health visitors, and we have increased the number of vulnerable women and families who will benefit from family nurses. But we are now going even further, so that more women will get the right support before, during and after child birth.

Dr Poulter has also committed to continue increasing the number of midwives in the NHS, and there will continue to be a record number of training commissions. Since 2010, there are over 1,300 more midwives working in the NHS, and a record 5000 midwives in training.  Department of Health

NICE says more heart attack survivors' lives could be saved though better access to cardiac rehabilitation programmes

NICE says more heart attack survivors' lives could be saved though better access to cardiac rehabilitation programmes
People who have had a heart attack (myocardial infarction, or MI) have a considerably increased risk of having another one. NICE has published its updated guidance on the best ways to reduce this risk by improving the care of hundreds of thousands of adults in England and Wales who have survived a heart attack.

Help promote stop smoking campaign

Help promote stop smoking campaign
Alongside the campaign, smokers will be able to pick up the new NHS “quit cards”. The pack of cards signpost smokers to the range of support available. This includes face to face support, a smokefree app, quit kit, email support and text support.  NHS Networks

E-cigarettes 'could save millions'

E-cigarettes 'could save millions'
Scientists say that if all smokers in the world switch from cigarettes to electronic cigarettes, it can save millions of lives.  BBC News

Legal bid over swine flu jab link to narcolepsy

Legal bid over swine flu jab link to narcolepsy
Patients who developed narcolepsy after receiving Pandemrix swine flu jab launch a class action against manufacturer GSK - but taxpayer could foot compensation bill.  Telegraph

Video games, tablets and smartphones are 'a back injury time bomb' for children who are increasingly sedentary, study warns

Video games, tablets and smartphones are 'a back injury time bomb' for children who are increasingly sedentary, study warns
Nearly three quarters of primary school children and nearly two thirds of secondary school age children have reported back or neck pain in the past year, a study found.  Mail Online