Memorandum on leprosy: 2012 report

Memorandum on leprosy: 2012 report: This report has been published to provide information to both clinicians and consultants in communicable disease control involved in notifying and managing a case of leprosy. The memorandum draws on the best available evidence together with the specialist knowledge of the Panel of Leprosy Opinion. Leprosy is an uncommon disease in England and Wales, yet it remains an important disease globally with 250,000 cases diagnosed annually. Its importance lies in the need for early diagnosis and expert treatment and support, both for those with active disease and for those who are physically, psychologically, or socially affected by it. Health Protection Agency

Making integrated out of hospital care a reality

Making integrated out of hospital care a reality: This report presents a set of principles to act as foundations for delivering integrated out-of-hospital care. NHS Confederation

Everyone counts: planning for patients 2013/14

Everyone counts: planning for patients 2013/14: This planning guidance aims to help local clinicians deliver more
responsive health services, focused on improving outcomes for patients, addressing local priorities and meeting the rights people have under the NHS Constitution. It outlines the incentives and levers that will be used to improve services from April 2013, the first year of the new NHS where improvement is driven by clinical commissioners.

• Guidance
• Clinical datasets
• CCG outcomes indicator set 2013/14: at a glance
• CCG outcomes indicator set 2013/14: factsheet
• NHS Commissioning Board - news

21st century welfare: seventy years since the Beveridge Report

21st century welfare: seventy years since the Beveridge Report: This report examines the giant evils as conceived by Beveridge, places them in the context of today’s society and explores how they are experienced. It examines public attitudes towards the NHS and the funding of care and support in future.

• Report
• Ipsos MORI - publications

New NHS planning guidance puts patient first

New NHS planning guidance puts patient first: Many newspapers are reporting new planning guidance for the NHS released by the NHS Commissioning Board, which it says will "drive a revolution for patients…giving them greater control of their health."

Hospitals specialising in community healthcare are key to future of the NHS

Hospitals specialising in community healthcare are key to future of the NHS: Prevention and rehabilitation need to be more widespread if the NHS is to cope with the costs of ageing, say healthcare leaders

NHS trusts are enmeshed in private provision – as buyers and suppliers

NHS trusts are enmeshed in private provision – as buyers and suppliers:

FOI requests reveal NHS hospitals spending millions buying beds in private hospitals or profiting from patients who pay
NHS hospitals deal with private firms to buy and sell patient care and treatment services worth more than £500m, creating a marketplace for commercial healthcare companies in the English health service, an analysis by the Guardian reveals.

Surgeons' ranking system 'could lead to cherry picking patients'

Surgeons' ranking system 'could lead to cherry picking patients': Surgeons could be discouraged from treating "difficult" patients because of new tables that rank them according to how many people die in their operating theatres, it has been warned. The Daily Telegraph

Judge overrules mother over cancer treatment for seven-year-old Neon Roberts

Judge overrules mother over cancer treatment for seven-year-old Neon Roberts:
A seven-year-old cancer sufferer is due to have life-saving surgery today after a High Court judge intervened to order the operation against his mother’s wishes. The Independent

New detailed analysis about NHS staff pay in England released for first time today

New detailed analysis about NHS staff pay in England released for first time today: December 18, 2012: Average basic pay among NHS staff rose slightly in 2012 but by a smaller amount than in 2011, according to experimental data published for the first time today by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC).

Hospitals to reveal performance data

Hospitals to reveal performance data: Hospitals will be required to publish survival rates for operations by the surgeon who carries them out under plans to help patients to choose more effectively where they have their care. The Independent

See also:

• Surgeons' death rates to be published following ten operations The Daily Telegraph

Why oh, why oh, wi-fi

Why oh, why oh, wi-fi: Health secretary Jeremy Hunt has made a technology revolution in the NHS one of his top priorities - but how well equipped is NHS infrastructure to deliver it? E-health Insider

New guide on sickness absence - musculoskeletal disorders

New guide on sickness absence - musculoskeletal disorders: NHS Employers has published a new guide to support line managers that are managing staff with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).

Developing and updating local formularies

Developing and updating local formularies: This guidance provides advice and guides good practice for those
involved in handling, prescribing, commissioning and decision-making about medicines. It has been designed to help organisations develop and update local formularies that reflect local needs, reduce variation in prescribing, and allow rapid uptake of innovative medicines and treatments, in accordance with statutory requirements.

• Guidance
• NICE - news

Redbook to go digital

Redbook to go digital: The Redbook, a record of children's development and health, is the subject of a project by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in order to create an online version of the data.Dr David Low, Chair of the RCPCH Informatics for Quality Committee, said: "Having it (the Redbook) online with the right information and advice should encourage parents to use it in a much more interactive way and put in mo... Healthcare Today

NHS to drop poverty as yardstick for local funding

NHS to drop poverty as yardstick for local funding: NHS commissioning board will discontinue funding system using a formula involving age, poverty and regional variations
The new independent quango at the heart of the coalition's health reforms has said it will stop using income to determine health spending levels around in the country next year as part of a set of reforms designed to promote "patient choice" in the NHS.

Hospital consultants could lose £40,000 in pay shake-up

Hospital consultants could lose £40,000 in pay shake-up: Senior hospital consultants' pay packages should undergo a radical shakeup, according to a report commissioned by ministers. The Daily Telegraph

EU directive had led to 'rigid doctors' shift patterns'

EU directive had led to 'rigid doctors' shift patterns': The junior doctors' contract is "not suitable" for today's NHS, while the European Working Time Directive has led to "rigid shift patterns" that do not benefit medics or patients, according to a report. The Daily Telegraph

Bowel Cancer: Postoperative deaths fall for fourth consecutive year, says national audit

Bowel Cancer: Postoperative deaths fall for fourth consecutive year, says national audit: December 17, 2012: Call to "break taboo that locks symptoms behind bathroom door" as emergency admissions continue to cause concern NHS Information Centre

MP raises concerns over services at Kettering hospital in Commons debate

MP raises concerns over services at Kettering hospital in Commons debate: MP for Corby and East Northants Andy Sawford raised concerns over the future of services at Kettering General Hospital during a Commons debate on Wednesday, December 12. Evening Telegraph