The future of NHS commissioning: no map or clear destination

The future of NHS commissioning: no map or clear destination After more than 20 years of repeated reorganisations (culminating in one so big you can see it from outer space), policy-makers have finally navigated the purchaser–provider divide to focus their attention on the structure of health care providers. When the NHS five year forward view (Forward View) was published in 2014 (with its focus on developing new, locally designed integrated models for providing health and care) the broad thrust of English health policy shifted from commissioners and competition to providers and collaboration.

Although any pause in the cycle of top-down reorganisation is welcome, there is now a clear (and perhaps conscious?) gap in the policy landscape. How will clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) be affected as new integrated provider models such as accountable care organisations (ACOs) emerge and sustainability and transformation partnerships (STPs) and accountable care systems (ACSs) (that involve both commissioners and providers) are layered on top of an already complex NHS landscape? The King's Fund

A map for better care: making effective care pathways for people with interstitial lung disease

A map for better care: making effective care pathways for people with interstitial lung disease A new report finds that many people living with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) still aren’t getting the diagnosis, support or care they need.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is currently an incurable lung condition with no known cause. The average life expectancy in the UK after diagnosis is 3 years.

Yet access to services, treatment and support for patients with IPF is fragmented. This urgently needs to change. We need to make health systems work for everyone living with IPF.

Patients can’t afford to waste the precious time they have left going from service to service for help. They need speedy, seamless access to the care they need, when they need it. British Lung Foundaton

See also:

• NHS urged to end 'inhuman' treatment of IPF sufferers The Daily Mail
• Lung disease patients failed by system OnMedica

Getting flu jab is best way to protect everyone, says Public Health England

Getting flu jab is best way to protect everyone, says Public Health England Public Health England has stressed the importance of being vaccinated against flu, as NHS leaders are warned to brace themselves for a ‘pressurised’ flu season this winter. NHS Employers

See also:

• Weekly national flu reports Public Health England

Southern Health NHS Trust admits guilt over Connor Sparrowhawk's death

Southern Health NHS Trust admits guilt over Connor Sparrowhawk's death An NHS trust has admitted guilt over the death of a teenaged patient who drowned in the bath while in its care.

Southern Health Trust pleaded guilty at Banbury Magistrates' Court earlier to breaching health and safety law in the case of Connor Sparrowhawk, 18, who died at Slade House in Oxford in 2013.

His death led to the discovery the trust only properly investigated 272 unexplained deaths of 722 in its care.

Sentencing is due to take place on 12 October at Oxford Crown Court.

The trust was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) under Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 following its investigation into the death of a patient under its care. BBC News

Record numbers of joint replacements carried out

Record numbers of joint replacements carried out A record number of joint replacement procedures have been carried out, new figures show.

In its report, published today, the orthopaedic joint replacement register for England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man highlights a record number of procedures were carried out in the financial year 2016/17, with just fewer than 243,000 cases submitted to the National Joint Registry (NJR). This sees a significant increase of more than 20,000 joint replacement operations recorded in the registry on the previous period.

Today's National Joint Registry 14th Annual Report presents outcome data in relation to hip, knee, shoulder, elbow and ankle replacements. OnMedica

NHS spends £80m on private ambulances a year, data shows

NHS spends £80m on private ambulances a year, data shows Staff shortages and rising demand have forced NHS trusts to hire non-NHS ambulances, leading to fears of lower care standards

The NHS is spending almost £80m a year hiring private ambulances to answer 999 calls and take patients to hospital for appointments, new figures show.

Widespread shortages of paramedics and rising demand forced England’s 10 NHS ambulance trusts to spend £78.4m in 2016-17 on help from non-NHS providers to supplement their own services. That was down on the £79.7m trusts spent in 2015-16, but 22% more than their £64.2m outlay in 2014-15, according to data obtained by the Press Association under freedom of information laws. Continue reading... The Guardian

The NHS should see care homes as partners, not problems

The NHS should see care homes as partners, not problems Care homes provide the majority of long-term healthcare to older people but provision is uneven. Our study shows how services can work together better

Care homes provide the majority of long-term healthcare to older people. They rely on primary care for access to medical support and referral to specialist services, yet studies consistently show that healthcare provision for care home residents across England is unpredictable and uneven.

For the NHS, care homes are a conundrum; they provide care that used to be supplied by the health service, but are often perceived as a poor alternative that generates avoidable demand on hospitals. Continue reading... The Guardian

Sepsis: the truth about this hidden killer

Sepsis: the truth about this hidden killer Sepsis is responsible for more deaths in the UK than bowel, breast and prostate cancer combined. So why is so little known about it?

At the end of May, the World Health Organization adopted a new resolution mandating all of its member states to have national action plans in place to tackle sepsis, a disease being called the “deadliest killer you’ve never heard of”. Even conservative estimates place the annual death toll at 6 million worldwide, a health burden equivalent to that of tobacco. In the UK alone, sepsis is responsible for 44,000 deaths every year, more than bowel, breast and prostate cancer combined. Despite this, a recent survey found that 44% of people in the UK have never heard of sepsis and have little idea that it is a life-threatening emergency.

So, what exactly is sepsis and why does it continue to slip through the net of our collective consciousness? The new international definition of sepsis describes it as a condition that arises when the body’s response to infection causes organ dysfunction. “There’s a range of ways in which this can happen,” says Prof Anthony Gordon, chair in anaesthesia and critical care at Imperial College London, and an National Institute for Health Research professor investigating sepsis. “The body’s immune response can be simply overwhelmed by the infection, or there’s a dysfunctional response producing too much inflammation. The body may already be immunosuppressed due to a trauma or fighting an initial infection, so the immune response is too weak.” Continue reading... The Guardian

NHS chiefs read the riot act over poor A&E performance

NHS chiefs read the riot act over poor A&E performance NHS hospital chiefs have been hauled in by Jeremy Hunt over poor performance, in a desperate bid to head off an Accident & Emergency crisis.

It follows warnings that the NHS could be facing the worst flu season in its history, and orders to all NHS trusts to empty thousands of beds.

Ministers and health officials fear that one in three hospitals are struggling so badly that safety could be compromised as pressures mount.

Two chief executives have just been forced out, with around 60 more ordered to a mandatory all-day meeting yesterday, where they were warned to make urgent improvements. The Daily Telegraph