Widespread support for electronic health record data sharing

Widespread support for electronic health record data sharing Most think it will improve care and curb medical errors, poll indicates. OnMedica

See also:

• Public support wider access to GP record EMIS

New data show rates of common NHS operations and resulting patient benefit

New data show rates of common NHS operations and resulting patient benefit The Health and Social Care Information Centre has published information about four common NHS operations, and patient feedback about the health outcomes of these operations.

Guidance: Mutuals in health: Pathfinder Programme

Guidance: Mutuals in health: Pathfinder Programme Chris Ham, Chief Executive of the King’s Fund, recently published an independent review of staff engagement and empowerment in the NHS. The review recommended that government support a pathfinder programme to help NHS trusts and foundation trusts explore the benefits of the mutual model.

In response to the review’s recommendation, Department of Health and Cabinet Office launched a joint initiative on 15 July 2014 to support health and care organisations explore the potential advantages of mutualising their services. The Pathfinder Programme is designed to support a small number of pioneering trusts, either individually or in partnership. It is open to all foundation trusts and NHS trusts.

Expressions of Interest (EOI) are open until 4 September 2014. To participate, send your expression of interest form to mutualsinhealth@cabinet-office.gsi.gov.uk.

Drawing on a £1 million fund, trusts participating in the programme will have technical, legal and consultancy support to help them:

• understand what mutualisation means for them
• find solutions to practical barriers to becoming mutual organisations

The details of this support will be developed in partnership with each trust.

If you have any questions about the Pathfinder Programme, contact: mutualsinhealth@cabinet-office.gsi.gov.uk. Department of Health

The engagement cycle

The engagement cycle This model was developed by InHealth Associates to support commissioners aiming to engage with patients and the public throughout the commissioning cycle. It has been updated to align with current statutory guidance, new commissioning arrangements and current healthcare challenges.

Failing GP practices face closure

Failing GP practices face closure Failing GP practices will face closure under plans being unveiled in England by the Care Quality Commission. BBC News

See also:

• CQC's proposals for special measures for GP practices Care Quality Commission
• Dangerous GPs surgeries will be closed by regulator The Daily Telegraph
• GP surgeries face two-strike policy over safety ratings The Guardian

Two-thirds of Britons with depression get no treatment

Two-thirds of Britons with depression get no treatment If these figures related to cancer patients the nation would be in uproar, says new president of Royal College of Psychiatrists

Less than a third of people with common mental health problems get any treatment at all a situation the nation would not tolerate if they had cancer, according to the incoming president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

While the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has pledged to deliver "parity of esteem" for mental and physical health services, the treatment gap is now so huge that it may prove impossible to bridge in the current financial climate, said Professor Simon Wessely of King's College London in his first interview since election to the post. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• What is the state of mental health in England and Wales? The Guardian
• Cuts leave NHS mental health services 'dangerously close to collapse' The Independent 
• Mentally ill lacking help: Only three in ten people with a common condition such as depression receive treatment Daily Mail

Worst-hit GP surgeries to gain bailout as NHS admits reforms strike poor hardest

Worst-hit GP surgeries to gain bailout as NHS admits reforms strike poor hardest The NHS in England has admitted that its new system for funding GP practices may discriminate against poorer patients, as it announced a bailout fund to save surgeries in some of the most deprived parts of the country. The Independent

Ebola outbreak: Graphics reveal how deadly virus spread from two-year-old in Guinea to be international ‘public health emergency’

Ebola outbreak: Graphics reveal how deadly virus spread from two-year-old in Guinea to be international ‘public health emergency’ The world is facing the worst outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus it has ever seen. The Independent

See also:

• VIDEO: How the UK is guarding against Ebola BBC News
• Ebola: Mapping the outbreak BBC News
• Kenya 'at high risk' of deadly Ebola BBC News
• Ebola outbreak: Fears for Lagos - a vast city of 21 million ‘perfect for the virus to spread’ The Independent
• Ebola outbreak: Deaths from malaria and other diseases could soar while Africa’s over-stretched healthcare systems fight the virus The Independent