GUIDANCE/GUIDELINES

Clinical practice guidelines for the assessment of young women aged 20-24 with abnormal vaginal bleeding (3rd March 2010)

Following a review of the cervical screening age by the Advisory Committee on Cervical Screening (ACCS) in May 2009 (at which members unanimously agreed that the screening start age should remain at age 25), the committee has produced new guidance for primary care on the management of young women who present with gynaecological symptoms.

The guidance was produced by a multi-disciplinary group, including professionals, patients and the voluntary sector.

Guidance

ELDERLY/OLDER PEOPLE

National Evaluation of Partnerships for Older People Projects: final report (18th January 2010)
The Partnership for Older People Projects (POPP) were funded by the Department of Health to develop services for older people, aimed at promoting their health, well-being and independence and preventing or delaying their need for higher intensity or institutional care. The evaluation found that a wide range of projects resulted in improved quality of life for participants and considerable savings, as well as better local working relationships.
Report

Improving care and saving money: learning the lessons on prevention and early intervention for older people (18th January 2010)
This document provides the key learning from the national Partnerships for Older People Projects (POPP) programme.
Guidance

Personal budgets for older people - making it happen (13th January 2010)
This guide focuses on how councils can make personal budgets work well for older people and their families. It looks at how to ensure personal budgets are accessible, simple to use, flexible and help to achieve the things that matter most to the people using them.
Guide

A Guide to co-production with older people (December 2009)
A small co-production design team involving older people and strategic leads from three local authorities worked with NDTi and Helen Sanderson Associates to produce a further related publication on understanding co-production and how to make it happen with older people.The guide describes how local authorities, older people and older people's organisations can work together to design and deliver opportunities, support and services that improve wellbeing and quality of life.
Guide

CHILDREN/YOUNG PEOPLE

ARTICLE - Pediatric Gastroesophageal Reflux Clinical Practice Guidelines: Joint Recommendations of the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (NASPGHAN) and the European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) (October 2009)
This document provides evidence-based guidelines for the diagnosis and management of gastoesophageal reflux and gastroesophageal reflux disease in children. These guidelines were developed based on the Delphi principle.
Guidelines

Management of Attention Deficit and Hyperkinetic Disorders in Children and Young People. Sign Guideline 112 (October 2009)
Children with ADHD/HKD and their families require a comprehensive package of care, involving education services as well as health.

The guideline aims to provide a framework for evidence based assessment and management of ADHD/HKD which can be applied within a local multidisciplinary and multiagency approach.
Guideline

DIABETES

Care recommendation: aspiring treatment in diabetes (22nd October 2009)
The use of antiplatelet agents such as aspirin has been shown to reduce the chance of future cardiovascular events in people who have both diabetes and established cardiovascular disease (includes heart disease, stroke/TIA and peripheral vascular disease). This guidance recommends that people with diabetes who have established cardiovascular disease should be offered aspirin treatment, in addition to following a healthy lifestyle.
Guidance

TOOLKIT

Toolkit for high quality neonatal services (4th November 2009)
The Department of Health has published new guidance to help the NHS improve the care provided for premature and sick babies during their first days.

The Toolkit includes a set of eight principles for quality neonatal services and a framework to assist commissioners. The principles aim to establish the following standards in neonatal care:

• Organisation of neonatal services
• Staffing of neonatal services
• Care of the baby and family experience
• Transfers
• Professional competence, education and training
• Surgical services
• Clinical governance
• Data requirements

Toolkit

LEARNING DISABILITIES

Good Learning Disability Partnership Boards: Making it happen for everyone (21st October 2009)
In Valuing People Now (2009) the Department of Health undertook to publish a range of guidance for Learning Disability Partnership Boards to assist them in delivering on the goals set out in the strategy. The good practice guidance, ‘Good Learning Disability Partnership Boards: ‘Making it happen for everyone’ was launched at the NCAS (National Children and Adult Services) conference on 21 October.

This guide gives best practice examples from around the country and is based on the evidence that the most effective Partnership Boards are those:

• with strong links to other local boards and work programmes;
• where there is delegated or shared financial and commissioning responsibility; and
• where there is meaningful representation of people with learning disabilities and family carers from all local communities

Guidance

MENTAL HEALTH

Absent without leave: definitions of escape and abscond (21st October 2009)
Definitions of escape, attempted escape, abscond and failure to return in secure mental health services.
Guidance

PANDEMIC INFLUENZA

Local authority social care pandemic flu self-assessment survey (23rd October 2009)
Letter inviting local authorities to participate in a social care self-assessment survey. The self-assessment template is also available for download.
Letter and Template

Swine flu: guidance for planners (22nd October 2009)
The Department of Health and the Cabinet Office have today published new guidance to support pandemic planners based on the latest science and understanding of the swine flu virus. The latest evidence indicates that the pandemic may peak at a lower rate than we originally thought, but does not suggest that their should be any change to our response in terms of ensuring the NHS and social care organisations are as prepared and resilient as possible for the winter months.
Guidance

H1N1 swine flu vaccination programme 2009-2010: repackaging packs of vaccine for onward distribution (21st October 2009)
Letter and protocol from the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer so support repackaging under pharmaceutical supervision.
Letter and Protocol

A (H1N1) swine influenza: social care worker vaccination programme update (15th October 2009)
Information to help Directors of Adult Social Services in vaccination planning.
Information

How to order swine flu vaccine and collect vaccine uptake data (published 8th October 2009 new to website 16th October 2009)
Letter describing the ordering and data collection processes and also a template of contact details for vaccine uptake data.
Letter and template

The H1N1 swine flu vaccination programme 2009-2010 (15th October 2009)
Letter providing information for clinicians to assist them in delivering the swine flu vaccination programme.
Letter

A (H1N1) swine influenza: vaccination programme update (15th October 2009)
A letter from Ian Dalton, National Director of NHS Flu Resilience, to NHS Chief Executives, providing further information on the swine flu vaccination programme.
Letter

Antiviral prophylaxis: guidance on the use of prophylaxis with antiviral medicines during the H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic (15th October 2009)
This guidance sets out the circumstances in which it may be appropriate to offer a course of prophylactic antiviral medicine to patients with a serious underlying medical condition or who are pregnant during the H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic.
Guidance

Stock Management System training manuals (27th October 2009)
The Stock Management System (SMS) provides the DH and the NHS Users with an effective tool to manage the distribution of antivirals to PCTs and collection points in the event of a pandemic. It will provide stock level information, reports and the ability to record issuance from GP prescribed antiviral information, along with the management of full issuance from the collection point via the NPFS system.

These training manuals are to provide guidance to users of the Stock Management System for antivirals.
Manuals

PRIMARY CARE TRUSTS

Reviewing patients who have waited longer than 18 weeks (21st October 2009)
As set out in David Flory's Quarter 4 2008-09 report, PCTs need to understand and act upon the reasons for any unnecessary waits over 18 weeks. This guidance suggests methods for reviewing and reporting waits longer than 18 weeks in order to understand the causes of unnecessary waits, and to drive further improvements in patient experience.
Guidance

Creating a performance management framework for a minimal alcohol data set for PCTs in Cheshire and Merseyside (23rd October 2009)
This is a report on a project to develop a performance management framework which can provide a minimal dataset to be collected on a range of alcohol-related issues across the Cheshire and Merseyside sub-region.
Report

CANCER

Manual for Cancer Services 2008: Complementary Measures (9th October 2009)
Following a three month consultation period, this is the final version of the complementary measures for inclusion in the Manual for Cancer Services. The measures can also be found on the CQUINS website.
Guidance

DIABETES

International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD) Clinical Practice Consensus Guidelines 2009 (September 2009)
The 2009 ISPAD Clinical Practice Consensus Guidelines have now been published as a compendium in a Supplement to Pediatric Diabetes. The guidelines, which have been updated and are available as individual documents include:

• Definition, epidemiology, diagnosis and classification
• Monogenic diabetes
• Management of cystic fibrosis-related diabetes
• Nutritional management
• Psychological issues

Guidelines

GUIDANCE/GUIDELINES

Collection Point Administration System (CPAS) user guidance (12th October 2009)
These training manuals are to provide guidance to users of the Collection Point Administration System (CPAS) for antivirals.
Guidance

LEARNING DISABILITIES

Supporting Learning Disability Partnership Boards to implement the National Carers Strategy (2nd October 2009)
This booklet offers guidance to Learning Disability Partnership Boards to help them ensure carers of people with learning disabilities, and carers with learning disabilities are:

• supported in their own right, and
• involved in local service developments which affect their lives, and the lives of the people they care for.

Booklet

SOCIAL CARE

NHS-funded nursing care practice guide (revised 2009) (30th September 2009)
This practice guide sets out the process for determining the eligibility for NHS-funded Nursing Care under the National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care. It has been revised in line with the revised National Framework.
Guidance

Identifying a fairer system for funding adult social care (7th October 2009)
The recent Green Paper shows that the Government has moved on from previous statements on adult social care – but it still lacks important detail, particularly on funding options.

In this Viewpoint, Justin Keen (Professor of Health Politics) and David Bell (Professor of Economics) evaluate the Paper and ask the following questions:

Is the Government taking steps to ensure that arrangements for the care and support of older people are fair?
Is the Green Paper detailed enough to determine whether people on different incomes may 'win' or 'lose' under any new set of proposals?
Viewpoint

SUBSTANCE MISUSE

Guidance for the pharmacological management of substance misuse among young people (2nd October 2009)
Until now there has been no formal guidance to help clinicians to manage substance dependence among young people. This has left practitioners concerned that their practice may not accord with the developing evidence base. This guidance document describes good practice on the best ways to manage a clinically complex condition.
Guidance

Guidance for the pharmacological management of substance misuse among young people in secure environments (2nd October 2009)
Until now there has been no formal guidance to help clinicians to manage substance dependence among young people. This has left practitioners concerned that their practice may not accord with the developing evidence base. This guidance document describes good practice on the best ways to manage a clinically complex condition.
Guidance

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Physical activity matters to the health of our nation (24th September 2009)
A new physical activity care pathway in primary care, Let's Get Moving, was launched on 24th September 2009. All the documents are now available to access.
Covering Letter
Feasibility Study
Commissioning Guidance
Patient and Staff Resources

LOCAL AUTHORITY/GOVERNMENT

Guidance on direct payments for community care, services for carers and children's services: England 2009 (4th September 2009)
The aim of this guidance is to assist local councils in making direct payments. Together with the Annexes, it also provides guidance on how local councils might manage and administer direct payments. It replaces ‘Direct payments guidance: community care, services for carers and children’s services (Direct Payments) guidance’ issued in 2003. The guidance has been updated to reflect recent legislative changes that extend direct payments to previously excluded groups. An impact assessment and equality impact assessment have been carried out.
Guidance

Taking forward the role of council regulators (10th September 2009)
This section of the Improvement & Development Agency (IDeA) website aims to facilitate a greater contribution by local authority regulatory services (LARS) to the health of communities they service.

The section includes 6 case studies:

• setting up a new post of a health and wellbeing co-ordinator
• development of an integrated impact assessment and the setting up of a health 'peer challenge' system
• looks at the way NHS National Service Frameworks have been used within a council to develop a health improvement statement and joint training
• discusses the work of a council's health improvement management group
• setting up of a non-profit social enterprise company to extend a council's regulatory services beyond enforcement to include health advice and promotion, including acting as the national lead on shisha smoking
• looks at the work of a council's licensing and food standards staff in screening for sexually transmitted diseases and promoting health eating in food outlets.

Information

MENTAL HEALTH

Information sharing and mental health (9th September 2009)
This guidance sets out some of the issues relating to the exchange of information between mental health trusts and outside organisations and individuals. It sets out when, why and how information can safely be exchanged for the benefit of the individual and the public.
Guidance

Mental Health First Aid Guidelines (September 2009)
The Mental Health First Aid Guidelines contain information about how a member of the community can give initial help to someone who they think might be developing or experiencing a mental illness or a mental health crisis. Nine different guidelines are now available and include information on early intervention in the disorders of depression, psychosis, eating disorders, problem drinking and problem drug use. In addition, four mental health crisis situations are also covered: suicidal thoughts and behaviours, non-suicidal self-injury, panic attacks and assisting (adult or child) after a traumatic event.
Guidelines

Implementing Recovery (9th September 2009)
This position paper, from the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, sets out the ten major challenges for mental health services to put recovery at the heart of their everyday practice.

Implementing recovery means supporting people to take much greater control over the way that they are treated. It means challenging stigma and discrimination much more assertively in communities. And it requires mental health professionals to work in a very different way to support service users' own priorities and their hopes for the future.
Paper

GUIDANCE/GUIDELINES

Third Sector Investment Programme: Innovation Excellence and Service Development Fund 2010-11 - information pack for third sector organisations (20th July 2009)
This document provides third sector organisations with information about the Third Sector Investment Programme’s Innovation Excellence and Service Development Fund.
Guidance

FORCED MARRIAGE

Multi-agency practice guidelines: Handling Cases of Forced Marriage (2nd July 2009)
The Forced Marriage Unit has published a revised set of multi-agency practice guidelines for frontline professionals (such as teachers, police officers, social and health care professionals, housing officers) to help them to work more closely together and to better identify and protect children and adults at risk of forced marriage. The revised guidelines replace the existing individual guidelines which were tailored for specific professionals and now brings these together into one single document.
Guidelines

Forced Marriage - Prevalence and Service Response (2nd July 2009)
This research sought to improve understanding of the prevalence of forced marriage and to examine the way services are currently responding to such cases.
Report