PRIMARY CARE

Primary Care and Emergency Departments: report from the Primary Care Foundation (8th March 2010)
In May 2009 the Department of Health commissioned the Primary Care Foundation to study the impact of using primary care within or alongside Accident and Emergency. The report highlights that use of primary care clinicians in Accident and Emergency departments can benefit patients where services are integrated and clinicians work together.

The findings of this report are being developed into a guide for commissioners on use of primary care clinicians with Accident and Emergency departments and this guide will be available soon.

This report will be of interest to NHS chief executives and their commissioning colleagues.
Report

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

PROVIDERS

Piloting Quality Accounts for primary care and community services providers (22nd February 2010)
NHS North East and NHS East Midlands are working with a range of providers across general practice, dentistry, community Healthcare services provision, out of hours and urgent care provision and community pharmacy to pilot Quality Accounts in 2010.

This pilot aims to explore how Quality Accounts for these providers could best develop. An evaluation of these reports will help inform the direction of any requirements relating to the production of Quality Accounts by primary care and community services providers.

The framework for the testing has been developed in discussion with those involved. The document is aimed at those undertaking the pilots, but may also be of interest to others.
Publications

PRIMARY CARE

Primary Care: Current Innovations (1st December 2009)
A new report presents an overview of international developments in Primary Care at both country wide and service level. It describes some of the aims of the health policies of a range of countries in the developed world and provides examples of service shifts that have been implemented in order to meet the specific requirements and contextual factors of the country or service involved.
Report

DENTAL

Local self-assessment audit for assessing implementation of HTM 01-05: decontamination in primary care dental practices and related infection prevention and control issues (1st December 2009)
The Department of Health and Infection Prevention Society (DH/IPS) audit tool has been produced jointly by the Department and the Infection Prevention Society to allow practices to assess their level of compliance with HTM 01-05. It will allow practices to identify areas where they need to improve the quality of the decontamination process to achieve essential quality requirements and best practice as identified in the guidance document.

The Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices is also available.
Audit Tool

COMMISSIONING

Commissioning what works. The economic and financial case for supported employment (22nd September 2009)
Commissioning what works: the economic and financial case for supported employment shows that Individual Placement and Support (IPS), which helps people into paid competitive work, is effective, is good value for money and is affordable to the NHS.

Studies have shown that IPS is by far the most effective way of helping people who use mental health services to get jobs. And those who work regularly make less use of mental health services, needing fewer hospital admissions, as well as having a better quality of life and a higher income.

This briefing paper examines the cost of providing IPS services against the cost of other employment services.
Briefing

Let's Get Moving - A new physical activity care pathway for the NHS: Commissioning guidance (24th September 2009)
The commissioning guidance sets out an evidence-based behaviour charter model Let’s Get Moving encouraging local commissioning of physical activity interventions in primary care.
Guidance

Let's Get Moving feasibility study (24th September 2009)
Let's Get Moving (LGM) has been tested in a feasibility trial in 14 surgeries by the British Heart Foundation National Centre for Physical Activity and Health, Loughborough University. The results of the trial demonstrated that LGM is feasible for delivery in primary care, and subject to recommendations is suitable for wide-scale implementation. LGM is now available to the NHS for commissioning.
Document

Commissioning Excellence - issue No. 4 September 2009 (September 2009)
Please note you need to be registered with a subscribing organisation to access this quarterly bulletin from NHS Primary Care Commissioning.
Bulletin

Virtual conference for World Class Commissioning Assurance - launch of Year 2 (September 2009)
Videos, Podcasts and Documents are now available from the conference that was held in London on 16th September 2009. These are additional to the Handbook that was in the last bulletin.
Resources

COMMUNITY SERVICES

HSMC Policy Paper 5. Integrating Care and Transforming Community Services: What Works? Where Next? (24th September 2009)
Health Services Management Centre (HSMC) has recently launched a new policy paper on integrated care. This follows on from a seminar organised by HSMC earlier this year which brought together experts from the US and UK to consider the issues and the evidence for what works.

Ham and De Silva’s paper summarises the presentations made at the seminar and considers the implications for policy makers and practitioners, noting the increasing interest in integrated care given the context of an ageing population and the increasing burden of chronic disease.

The authors note that while integrated care may not be the only solution, it has an important role to play in ensuring quality and the effective use of resources.
Paper

PATIENT AND PUBLIC INFORMATION

Let's Get Moving - patient resource (24th September 2009)
The Let's Get Moving (LGM) patient pack is designed to support patients in their efforts to become more active and contains helpful hints, practical examples, simple visual tools and personal planning exercises (practitioners might also wish to use the resource to guide patients towards becoming more active).

The pack has templates for relevant local information on indoor and outdoor activity opportunities. These templates should be completed locally, printed and inserted into the LGM patient pack prior to distribution to service deliverers. There is also an online search tool available on NHS Choices. Maps of local walking routes and green space are another supportive tool that can be included in the patient pack: these were very well received by patients in the LGM feasibility pilot.
Resources

Keep Warm Keep Well (24th September 2009)
The latest information to help the public maintain good health during winter.
Poster
Easy Read Leaflet
Guide for people with disabilities or long-term health conditions

Seasonal flu: why you should have the vaccination (17th September 2009)
This years campaign poster and leaflet.
Poster
Leaflet

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

PANDEMIC INFLUENZA

Critical care strategy: managing the H1N1 flu pandemic (September 2009)
This strategy sets out the Department of Healths approach to managing critical care during the swine flu pandemic by increasing the number of available critical care beds and preventing people becoming seriously ill as a result of swine flu.
Guidance
Covering letter
Letter from Chief Medical Officer

Pandemic influenza paediatric clinical pathways: information for health care professionals working in primary care and the community (10th September 2009)
This guidance should be used with the adult modules and provides additional paediatric information suitable for clinical staff in locations where acute medical care may be provided to children. This information should be used in combination with local training by paediatric specialist staff as available to you.
Guidance

Pandemic influenza: paediatric clinical pathways: information for health care professionals working in hospitals (7th September 2009)
This guidance provides paediatric information for hospital-based clinical staff who may need to care for children acutely unwell with influenza during a pandemic.
Guidance

Measures in school settings (11th September 2009)
WHO is today issuing advice on measures that can be undertaken in schools to reduce the impact of the H1N1 influenza pandemic. Recommendations draw on recent experiences in several countries as well as studies of the health, economic, and social consequences of school closures. These studies were undertaken by members of a WHO informal network for mathematical modelling of the pandemic.
Information

DENTAL

Local self-assessment audit for assessing implementation of HTM 01-05: decontamination in primary care dental practices and related infection prevention and control issues (24th August 2009)
This audit tool has been produced jointly by the Department and the Infection Prevention Society, to allow practices to assess their level of compliance with the HTM 01-05: decontamination in primary care dental practices. It will allow practices to identify areas where they need to improve the quality of the decontamination process to achieve essential quality requirements and best practice, as identified in the guidance document.
Audit Tool

COMMISSIONING

Recognising complexity: commissioning guidance for personality disorder services (2nd July 2009)
Guidance for commissioners in the NHS, criminal justice system, local authorities and others, which provides information and suggestions on best practice when considering services and systems for people with personality disorders.
Guidance

PBC two years on. Moving forward and making a difference? (1st July 2009)
In 2007, a straw poll of GPs and practice managers by The King’s Fund and NHS Alliance found that primary care trusts (PCTs) were struggling to put in place the basic building blocks of practice-based commissioning (PBC). Two years on, has PBC moved forward and is it making a difference to patient care? A new poll has found continuing commitment to PBC and optimism about its potential but progress is still hampered by a lack of local vision, a lack of clarity over roles and responsibilities and bureaucratic governance processes. Moving into an era of restricted financial resources, it will become increasingly important for PCTs and practices to work together. Real clinician engagement – underpinned by locally developed visions, structures, agreements and lines of accountability – is key to the development of effective partnership working.
Document

Primary Care and Community Services: improving GP access and responsiveness (7th July 2009)
Part of the world class commissioning suite of practical guides, this document builds on existing good practice within the NHS to support PCTs in improving the accessibility and responsiveness of local GP services.
Guidance

Guide to world-class commissioning competency 5 (June 2009)
A guide to improving performance on world-class commissioning competency 5 is now available. Sponsored by the NHS Information Centre and supported by the Department of Health, the guide includes facts about PCT performance on competency 5 in last year's assessment round and best practice profiles of the PCTs who performed best on the competency.

With its focus on knowledge management and needs assessment, competency 5 underpins all 11 competencies within world-class commissioning and is the one primary care trusts need to master to deliver high quality services for local people.
Guide

PRIMARY CARE

Better, Safer Doctors: implementing medical revalidation (June 2009)
From autumn 2009 all doctors who wish to practise medicine in the UK will require a Licence to Practise. This is the first step in introducing a system for regularly checking and assuring every doctor's continued fitness to practise, known as revalidation. This briefing explains the key elements of the process, sets out the various roles and responsibilities, and discusses the areas that remain to be resolved as revalidation gets underway.
Briefing

PATIENT CHOICE

Supporting patients to make informed choices in primary care: what works? (2nd June 2009)
This report, from Health Services Management Centre, found that while most patient information is provided in the form of written leaflets or via the internet, around one in five British people do not have basic literacy and struggle to read, and one thirs of households do not have a home internet connection.

Most people prefer to get information about local services from a health professional, such as their GP but the report found that many health professionals are not adequately fulfilling this role.
Report

PRIMARY CARE

Reviews published on primary care information for the public (13th May 2009)
Health Services Management Centre (HSMC) has recently completed a series of evidence reviews exploring the provision of public information about the quality of primary care services. Each review addresses a specific question including: what information about the quality of primary care services do patients and the public want; which information formats are most accessible and effective; and how can information be presented to empower patients to make an informed choice of primary care provider?
Reviews

GENERAL PRACTICE

Guidance to support elements of the GMS contract (March 2009)
NHS Employers and the General Practitioners Committee have published joint full guidance to support the following sections of the general medical services (GMS) contract
Quality and Outcomes Framework guidance for GMS contract 2009/10
Clinical directed enhanced services (DESs) for GMS contract 2008/09

Partners in Care - stories about NHS patients and their doctors (7th April 2009)
The strong relationship between doctor and patient is the cornerstone of the quality care of which the NHS is justifably proud. This publication, from British Medical Association (BMA) has true stories, told from the perspectives of 18 doctors and their patients.
Publication

PRIMARY CARE

Practitioners with Special Interest (PwSI) Guidance (4th February 2009)

A series of 18 new and updated guides for practitioners with special interests (PwSIs) in general practice and pharmacy is now available from NHS Primary Care Contracting. Further guides are also expected to appear shortly.
Guides

Primary Medical Services (Directed Enhanced Services) (England) (Amendment) Directions 2009 (5th February 2009)

The Primary Medical Services (Directed Enhanced Services) (Amendment) (England) Directions 2009 were signed on 29 January 2009 and make changes to, but do not replace, the existing Primary Medical Services (Directed Enhanced Services) (England) Directions 2008. They introduce five new clinical directed enhanced services:

• Alcohol
• Ethnicity and first language recording
• Learning difficulties
• Heart failure
• Osteoporosis

Directions
Learning disability DES guidance

PRIMARY CARE

Invitation to Transforming community services: towards healthy change (17th December 2008)
The Transforming Community Services (TCS) programme is hosting a launch event in London on 13 January, designed to help strengthen and benchmark the business processes and staff capabilities of PCT community services. The TCS programme is a major element in the primary and community care vision as set out in ‘High Quality Care for All’.
Information

PRIMARY CARE

Choice and Competition in Primary Care: Much Ado About Nothing? (November 2008)
This policy paper from Health Services Management Centre (HSMC) shows that GP-led companies have won most of the contracts awarded to date and that these types of organisations are also well placed among those shortlisted in the Equitable Access to Primary Care procurements. The paper argues that more attention needs to be given to increasing patients’ awareness of choice in primary care; otherwise there is a risk that the new GP-led health centres will not be fully utilised.
Policy Paper

PRIMARY CARE

No patient left behind: how can we ensure world class primary care for black and ethnic minority people? (22nd May 2008)
The 2007 GP Patient Survey highlighted significant variations between GP practices in levels of patient satisfaction, together with lower satisfaction rates for people from some BME groups. In response, the Secretary of State announced in July 2007 that he was asking Professor David Colin-Thomé, National Clinical Director for Primary Care, and Professor Mayur Lakhani (former Chair of the RCGP) to lead two reviews into access and responsiveness of primary care services. In this report, Professor Lakhani looks specifically at the reasons for lower satisfaction among patients from some BME communities.
Click here for the Document

Report of the National Improvement Team for Primary Care Access and Responsiveness (22nd May 2008)
The 2007 GP Patient Survey highlighted significant variations between GP practices in levels of patient satisfaction, together with lower satisfaction rates for people from some BME groups. In response, the Secretary of State announced in July 2007 that he was asking Professor David Colin-Thomé, National Clinical Director for Primary Care, and Professor Mayur Lakhani (former Chair of the RCGP) to lead two reviews into access and responsiveness of primary care services. In this report, Professor Colin-Thomé focuses on the variation in patient satisfaction between practices.
Click here for the Document