GENERAL PRACTICE

A survey of general practitioners' knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding the prevention and management of alcohol-related problems: an update of a World Health Organization survey ten years on (February 2010)
The aim of this study, from the Alcohol Education and Research Council (AERC), was to assess the current knowledge, attitudes and practices of GPs concerning brief alcohol intervention and to examine whether these had changed over the last ten years and in light of recent health policy initiatives.
Report

NHS

The Government's response to the Health Select Committee's report on the use of management consultants in the NHS and the Department of Health (22nd October 2009)
This Command Paper sets out the Government's response to the House of Commons Health Select Committee's report on the use of management consultants by the NHS and the Department of Health.
Response

Protecting the NHS in relation to patient mobility and cross-border healthcare: Draft regulations and guidance (21st October 2009)
Case law from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on patient mobility under Article 49 of the EU Treaty means that patients are able to seek any healthcare (including private care) in another European Economic Area (EEA) Member State, and, as long as they are entitled to the treatment in question under their home healthcare system, they are eligible to have their costs reimbursed. For patients travelling from the UK, this reimbursement can be up to the level of the cost for the same treatment provided in the UK under the NHS. Any additional costs must be met by the individual.

Patients from EEA countries can likewise pay to receive NHS treatment and claim reimbursement from their home health system.
Draft Guidance and Regulations

Survey on 48 hour week Working Time Directive readiness (19th October 2009)
The objective in conducting this survey was to review the readiness of NHS trusts for the introduction of the European Working Time Directive 48 hour working week in August 2009. This document was commissioned by DH in November 2008 and represented data collected in January 2009.
Report

NHS as the preferred provider (13th October 2009)
The Secretary of State’s recent speech at the King’s Fund focused on putting quality at the core of the NHS. He assured ‘the NHS is our preferred provider’. This letter shares with NHS Chief Executives how the Department of Health propose to move this policy forward through the development of future guidance.
Letter

Delivering Same-Sex Accommodation (DSSA): principles (28th October 2009)
Seventeen principles have been developed to ensure each organisation delivers the highest standards of privacy and dignity within all areas of a hospital, other trusts and providers. The principles support existing DSSA policy and guidance and aim to further clarify DSSA clinical definitions amongst leaders and staff within the NHS. It is intended for the principles to be used in conjunction with other guidance to drive forward improvement and ensure sustainability within each organisation.
Guidance

COMMUNITIES

2007-08 Citizenship Survey: Empowered Communities Topic Report (29th September 2009)
Using 2007-08 Citizenship Survey data, this report provides an in-depth examination of community empowerment: whether people feel they can influence local and national decisions; whether they would like to be more involved in decision making; what would make it easier to influence decision making; and how people would influence decisions if they wanted to. It also looks at people's trust in institutions and what activities people actually take part in (civic activism, civic consultation, civic participation and volunteering).
Report

CITIZENSHIP

2007-08 Citizenship Survey (27th August 2009)
The Citizenship Survey is the biggest survey of its kind in England and Wales and asks for people's views about the local area, community cohesion, discrimination, values, interaction, civic engagement, volunteering and charitable giving.

Results show that:

• More than half of respondents chose respect for the law (57 per cent) and tolerance and politeness towards others (56 per cent)
• White people (57 per cent) and people from ethnic minority groups (58 per cent) were similarly likely to cite respect for the law; and
• More than a third of respondents chose equal opportunities (38 per cent), freedom of speech (36 per cent) and that everyone should speak English (36 per cent).

The two reports published today (2007-08 Citizenship Survey: Community Cohesion Topic Report and 2007-08 Citizenship Survey: Identity and Values Topic Report) are produced every year and provide further detail on quarterly statistical releases.
Survey

HEALTH AND LIFESTYLE

Health and Lifestyles in the North West (30th April 2009)
The North West Lifestyle Survey 2007 was designed to collect essential information on the lifestyles of people living in the North West, to provide baseline measures of prevalence against which the effectiveness of regional initiatives over the coming years can be monitored. The survey also provides health professionals with detailed intelligence to help support a range of actions aimed at the improvement of the health of the North West population. These actions include effective targeting of resources, priority setting and the development and implementation of strategies and policies. In addition to the regional survey, local areas were offered the opportunity to buy local survey boosts with consistent methodology, so that local measurements could be compared against a standardised regional baseline.
Survey

HEALTHCARE COMMISSION

Investigation into Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust (17th March 2009)
This report, published today, criticises Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust for significant failings in emergency healthcare, leadership and management. There is also a letter from David Nicholson, Chief Executive NHS, drawing the attention of all NHS chairs, chief executives, medical and nurse directors to this report.
Press Release
Report
Summary Report
Terms of Reference
Letter

The Healthcare Commission 2004-2009: Regulating healthcare - experience and lessons (19th March 2009)
The Healthcare Commission today (Thursday) publishes its report on the impact of NHS regulation on healthcare, and identifies areas where lessons can be learned. The report comes as the Healthcare Commission approaches the end of its time as the independent regulator of the NHS. A new integrated regulator of health, mental health and adult social care, the Care Quality Commission, will take over on 1 April 2009. The report considers how independent regulation has contributed to better outcomes and quality of care for people since 2004, as well as highlighting lessons for both regulation and the healthcare system as a whole.
Report

Improving services for children in hospital - report of the follow-up to the 2005/06 review (13th March 2009)
The Healthcare Commission today (Friday) publishes a report detailing progress by 154 NHS acute trusts since it reviewed services for children in hospital in 2005/06. The 2005/06 review showed that services were generally good when children were inpatients in specialist paediatric services. But there was a need for significant improvement in the care of children being treated in other settings.

This latest report focuses on emergency and day case settings, looking at the areas that the Commission had previously highlighted as particular concerns. Results for each trust across 19 indicators of performance are published alongside the report.
Report

Safe in the knowledge: How do NHS trust boards ensure safe care for their patients? (12th March 2009)
This report aims to help the boards of all types of NHS trust to identify and develop the key behaviours and measures that they should review on a regular basis, to determine whether they are truly commissioning and delivering the safest possible care – and if not, what needs to change.
Report

Safely does it: Implementing safer care for patients (12th March 2009)
This study looks at whether NHS organisations have the systems in place, from ‘the ward to the board’, to ensure that the care they provide to patients is as safe as reasonably possible. It is written for the boards of all types of NHS trust, senior managers, clinicians and risk managers.
Report

Commission looks at possibility of checking carbon reduction monitoring in the NHS (23rd March 2009)
The Healthcare Commission has today published a report it commissioned from the NHS Sustainable Development Unit, which looks at the data currently available to support NHS trusts being assessed for carbon reduction monitoring by the regulator. We will be sharing the report's findings and recommendations with the Care Quality Commission, which becomes responsible for regulating the NHS on 1 April 2009.
Report

National NHS Staff Survey 2008 (25th March 2009)
This is the sixth annual national survey of NHS staff, in which almost 290,000 NHS staff were asked for their views on working in the NHS. The aim of this survey is to gather information that will improve the working lives of NHS staff and help to provide better care for patients. Findings of the survey show a decline in the number of workers who say they experienced bullying, harassment or abuse by patients or their relatives and that nine out of 10 feel they make a difference for patients. Many more NHS staff also say they are trained in infection control and that hand-washing materials are always available when they need them. The Commission said the results highlight some real and significant progress that is to be celebrated. However, it said the results also indicate a need to improve the way that leaders in the NHS communicate their vision for the service and how managers act on feedback from staff. The findings also point to a need to improve the structure of teams and to clarify teams' objectives.
Survey

DIET/NUTRITION

Public attitudes to food (10th February 2009)
The results of this survey of public attitudes towards food issues, which was commissioned by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), show that many people are confused over date labels, which could mean that some are taking risks by eating food that is past its ‘use by’ safety date.
Survey

Saturated fat campaign (10th February 2009)
The FSA has launched a public health campaign to raise awareness of the health risks of eating too much saturated fat. People in the UK eat on average 20% more saturated fat than the recommended maximum.
Press Release and campaign materials