Clinical engagement in high-value commissioning: elective surgical procedures

Clinical engagement in high-value commissioning: elective surgical procedures: This casebook describes work led by NHS Right Care on the development of guidance for the commissioning of elective surgical procedures. In
addition to this, two web-based tools have been developed to support and inform the commissioning process.

• Case book
• Tools
• NHS Right Care - resources

Research could lead to 'universal' flu vaccine

Research could lead to 'universal' flu vaccine: “Scientists create new flu vaccine that works against many different strains of the virus,” The Independent reports.

This headline, and several others like it, is based on early stage research into the development of alternative flu vaccine technologies. While the results of this research are promising, they do not mean that a universal flu jab has been developed.

Crisis-hit elderly care 'needs money now'

Crisis-hit elderly care 'needs money now': The Coalition will perpetrate a "cruel deception" on elderly people if ministers fail to provide more funding for long-term care to back up their promise to limit costs, the architect of the reforms has warned. The Daily Telegraph

GP leaders clash with Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, over A&E crisis

GP leaders clash with Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, over A&E crisis: GPs’ leaders have clashed with the Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, in their increasingly acrimonious row over who is responsible for the crisis in Accident & Emergency departments. The Independent

See also:

• Speech: Primary Care and the modern family doctor Department of Health
• Jeremy Hunt orders GPs to take charge of out of hours care as row escalate The Daily Telegraph
• Jeremy Hunt's blundering blaming of GPs makes for bad politics | Polly Toynbee The Guardian
• GPs threaten to quit commissioning to concentrate on patients The Guardian
• Hunt plans contract change to hand out-of-hours duty to GPs GP Online
• VIDEO: Hunt firm on out-of-hours GP plans BBC News

Shocking inspection report reveals East Midlands Ambulance Service is on verge of “falling apart”

Shocking inspection report reveals East Midlands Ambulance Service is on verge of “falling apart”:
A damning inspection report of East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAC) has revealed it is at “breaking point” and in desperate need of more vehicles and staff. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

See also

• EMAS Inspection Report CQC
• Ambulance service fined millions for missing national target Nothamptonshire Telegraph

Green light for £260 million technology fund to make the NHS safer

Green light for £260 million technology fund to make the NHS safer: Doctors and nurses are to get better information about patients so people get safer care thanks to a new £260 million NHS technology fund, announced by NHS England today.

GPs 'will not shore up unsafe NHS'

GPs 'will not shore up unsafe NHS': Family doctors are not prepared to shore up an emergency health care system left unsafe by "political meddling", a GP leader is to warn in a speech. BBC News

See also:

• GP chief to launch scathing attack on Jeremy Hunt over out-of-hours care The Guardian
• Government accused of using 'anti-GP rhetoric' to mask its own failings The Guardian
• What's causing the crisis in A&E? The Guardian
• GP contract 'not to blame' for A&E pressure, NHS leaders say GP Online

Community nursing service under fire

Community nursing service under fire: Health unions say the state of NHS services for people who can't get to a GP in many parts of England is "lamentable". BBC News

See also:

• VIDEO: Lack of district nurses 'adds stress' BBC News

GP practice silos 'stifle innovation'

GP practice silos 'stifle innovation': Innovation in primary care has been held back because there are too many small GP practices in England working in 'silos', a senior NHS England official has claimed. GP Online

Patients urged to email or phone GP rather than have a face-to-face consultation

Patients urged to email or phone GP rather than have a face-to-face consultation:

Head of NHS Confederation says it would take pressure off GP services and A&E Related items from OnMedica Telehealth expansion to be headed by CCGs Future of NHS 111 comes under scrutiny Hunt wants GPs to ‘take back OOH responsibility’ Shake-up needed of urgent care Does “24 hour supermarket” healthcare make patients healthier?

Woman, 31, died after being left with unqualified healthcare worker who mixed up blood samples and scribbled medical records on plastic surgical gloves

Woman, 31, died after being left with unqualified healthcare worker who mixed up blood samples and scribbled medical records on plastic surgical gloves: Michelle Jannetta, from Milton Keynes, died at Milton Keynes Hospital after taking an overdose of painkillers. An inquest heard that staff continued to think she was faking her illness even when she was in a coma. The Daily Mail

Surgeons fear online performance data will damage reputations

Surgeons fear online performance data will damage reputations: Individual rates to be published for the first time in a move hailed as a 'watershed moment' for the profession.
The leader of England's surgeons has warned that the imminent publication of data about individual performance could destroy careers and harm patients if it is wrongly interpreted.

Judges rule back-to-work assessments 'unfair' to mentally ill

Judges rule back-to-work assessments 'unfair' to mentally ill: Iain Duncan Smith's drive to cut the number of people living on disability benefits has suffered a blow after judges ruled that back-to-work assessments discriminate against people with mental health conditions. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Two win sickness benefit challenge BBC News

Staff voice fears over quality of care in NHS

Staff voice fears over quality of care in NHS:
Three out of four senior health service staff complain that quality of care is not given sufficient priority in the NHS, according to a survey. The Independent

See also:

• Quality of care in NHS not seen as priority Public Service
• Majority of NHS professionals do not think that quality of care is treated as a priority in the NHS The King's Fund
• Leadership Survey 2013 King's Fund

Ambulance service is fined £3.5m

Ambulance service is fined £3.5m: East Midlands Ambulance Service is fined for failing to meet response time targets for a third year. BBC Northamptonshire

Closing the gate before the horse bolts: a new approach to patient safety

Closing the gate before the horse bolts: a new approach to patient safety: The time is now right to move to more actively designing and managing patient safety, says Elaine Maxwell. Health Foundation

Flu drug bill 'shocking waste'

Flu drug bill 'shocking waste': The government squandered taxpayers' money on a drug to treat flu, a public spending watchdog says. BBC News

See also:

• £74m wasted on flu drugs destroyed because of poor record keeping The Guardian
• 'Shocking example of incompetence' over stockpiled flu drug Tamiflu The Independent
• £74m of Tamiflu thrown away by NHS The Daily Telegraph
• Access to clinical trial information and the stockpiling of Tamiflu National Audit Office

NHS help in repairing genital mutilation

NHS help in repairing genital mutilation: NHS clinics help women damaged by female genital mutilation. BBC News

Hunt 'must recognise growing GP crisis', warns RCGP

Hunt 'must recognise growing GP crisis', warns RCGP: The RCGP has hit back at criticism of GPs ahead of a speech this week by health secretary Jeremy Hunt, warning against 'demoralising' talk of tougher regulation. GP Online

Paying for social care: beyond Dilnot

Paying for social care: beyond Dilnot: This report argues that the government reforms alone will not solve the challenge of funding adult social care. It argues that whilst the social care funding cap will provide welcome protection for those who will require long stays in residential care, more should be done to meet mounting financial pressures. It calls for a stronger focus on the challenge of eligibility - ensuring that more people are able to access the right level of support. It also raises concerns that unmet need, and its impact on carers, will place further pressure on an NHS already under significant strain, arguing that it is time to look beyond the Dilnot report at how to secure enough resources to meet current and future needs.

• Report
• Related blog from Richard Humphries
• The King's Fund - press release