SUS Pilots: Sharing the Learning (September 2008)
The Secondary Uses Service (SUS) pilot and early adopter organisations have published emerging lessons as they go through the process of changing their systems so that they can submit 18-week Referral To Treatment data to SUS. This will be in the Commissioning Data Set version 6 format to support the national SUS 18-week reporting application.
Documents
Alcohol Profile for the Liverpool City Region (18th September 2008)
The North West Public Health Observatory (NWPHO) provided up-to-date, evidence-based research support to the Liverpool City Region Health is Wealth Commission, which was established to examine the growing gap between the City Region’s booming economic performance and its worsening public health status and to look at why this might be happening, and to make recommendations as to what might be done to help improve the situation. One of the Commission's key themes was alcohol, and so NWPHO produced this summary report profiling the impact of alcohol-related harm in the area to assist the Commission in producing such recommendations. The full Report of Health is Wealth is available in this Bulletin under Public Health.
Document
NICE Annual Report 2007/08 (September 2008)
The report describes how NICE is making more guidance available more quickly. For example, more single technology appraisals are being produced closer to the point at which they become available in the NHS. In addition, 2007/08 saw the introduction of a ‘short’ clinical guideline process which helps NICE respond faster to urgent NHS questions relating to a specific part of any given care pathway.
Annual Report
Improving patients’ experience of prostate cancer care (September 2008)
In England, improvement of cancer services is a policy priority, and improving patients’ experience of cancer care is an important element of this policy. National surveys of patient experience of cancer care have shown that patients with prostate cancer report less positive experiences of care than patients with other cancers. strategies to improve patients’ experience of prostate cancer care are being implemented at national and local levels. However, we still lack good quality information in this area about patients’ as well as carers’ experience of care. This summary is based on research conducted by a team led by Richard Baker at the University of Leicester (Baker et al. 2007) and commissioned by the NIHR Service Delivery and Organisation Programme (SDO). It is for any health professionals interested in improving the quality of care for patients with prostate cancer and their carers, including clinicians, policy makers, health managers and those in the voluntary sector.
Research Summary
Calculating a fair market price for care: A toolkit for residential and nursing homes (3rd edition) (17th September 2008)
Updated study to calculate reasonable fees, based on the operating costs of efficient care homes for older people in England. The demands resulting from an ageing population means that more care homes will be needed in the future. However, most public sector funding agencies do not currently offer fees that are sufficient to encourage care home operators to invest in new capacity for state-funded clients. Calculating a fair market price for care offers a transparent and evidence-based mechanism for working out what such fees should be, based on the costs borne by care homes in the financial year 2008/09. Updates for the third edition include: A new and simplified approach to working out ‘floor’ and ‘ceiling’ fair fees; New staff input and other cost benchmarks derived from a survey of major corporate operators of care homes in 2008; and A downward revision in the target rate of return on capital from 13% to 12%.
Report
What future for care? (18th September 2008)
Care is a contentious policy concept. Numbers of people needing care are rising. Radical change is planned for care policy to increase choice and control through ‘personalisation’. A new conceptual framework is now needed to take forward policy and practice for the twentyfirst century if people’s rights and needs are to be met.
Document
Does anyone care about fairness in adult social care? (25th September 2008)
This Viewpoint reviews some of the key proposals in adult social care of the last ten years from an equity perspective. It uses the analysis to argue that we can develop practical policies that are informed by clearly stated equity principles which serve to ensure that the most disadvantaged groups of people are treated more fairly.
Document
Literature review of children and young people’s gambling (26th September 2008)
This review was commissioned to summarise international evidence about: children and young people’s participation in different types of gambling activities; their motivations to gamble; the prevalence of problem gambling among children; and the harms caused to children by gambling (including in later life). It also briefly summarises the regulatory frameworks in place to protect children across a range of international jurisdictions and makes recommendations for further research.
Review
Development of a Survey on Services for Disabled Children (25th September 2008)
This report sets out a feasible and effective methodology for a survey to measure a Disabled Children’s Services Indicator and an approach to its calculation and reporting. The project involved focus groups comprising government policy leads, disability lobby groups and parents of disabled children. In addition, telephone interviews were held with staff in local authorities and primary care trusts and desk research was carried out looking at appropriate survey designs and sample frames.
Full Report
Brief
ARTICLE - Shopping for Services (September 2008)
This article, recently published in Health Management, helps PCT commissioners and managers on both sides of the procurement process understand what’s involved in commissioning and contracting for services.
Article
NHS Supply2Health (September 2008)
NHS Supply2Health is an online resource that advertises opportunities to provide Part B clinical services commissioned by the NHS in England. NHS Supply2Health lets you search for opportunities for Part B clinical services announced by NHS service commissioners in England and find information about NHS contracts awarded for Part B clinical services in England. From 30th September 2008 it will be mandatory for all PCTs to use NHS Supply2Health and each PCT will be required to have at least two people certified to use the system.
Website
Primary Care Contracting Training Resources
Integrated commissioning to improve care and dignity (September 2008)
Strengthening the commissioning process in social care is a top national and local priority. Warrington Borough Council has made a concerted effort to use commissioning to lever improvement in services by adult social care providers and to increase dignity for service users, as defined by the Department of Health’s Dignity Challenge.
Document
Evidence Gathering: Housing in Multiple Occupation and possible planning responses - Final Report (26th September 2008)
This report provides the outcome of an evidence gathering exercise which was undertaken to review the problems caused by high concentrations of houses in multiple occupation. This has been highlighted as a problem in a number of towns and cities across the country. 'Studentification' of university towns is a real concern especially during the summer months when neighbourhoods are left dormant because too many properties (Houses in Multiple Occupation, HMOs) in one area are rented to groups of students. The independent research sets out a series of cross cutting measures that could tackle and stop the complex causes and symptoms of concentrated student neighbourhoods. The measures include new planning mechanisms and the widespread adoption of a number of the best common sense local solutions that can be easily adopted.
Report
Does Neighbourhood Watch reduce crime? (17th September 2008)
Considering such large investments of resources and community involvement in the Neighbourhood Watch scheme, it is important to ask whether it is effective in reducing crime. Therefore, this report reviewed all available studies evaluating the effectiveness of Neighbourhood Watch programmes in reducing crime. The publication summarises the findings of this review and discusses policy implications.
Document
‘What Works’ to tackle alcohol-related disorder? (17th September 2008)
This guide aims to provide guidance about ‘What works?’ for borough Community Safety Partnerships, the London ASB Joint Action Group and the London Community Safety Partnership. It outlines the nature and extent of alcohol-related ASB, the tools and powers being used to tackle these issues and the effectiveness of such interventions.
Guide
Flagship or Flagging? The impact of Pension Credit five years on (26th September 2008)
More than half of older people are cutting back on essentials such as heating and food, and one in 10 of the poorest pensioners have been forced into debt by the rising cost of living, according to a new report by Age Concern. With a third of those eligible still missing out on the Government’s flagship benefit Pension Credit five years since its introduction – the charity is calling for urgent government action to increase take-up. To overcome the deeply ingrained barriers to claiming benefits, Age Concern wants the Government to introduce a new system of automatic payments as soon as possible – an idea supported by seven in 10 older people – and reform the benefits system to help the poorest pensioners cope with their escalating household bills.
Document
Older People’s Experiences of Falls and Bone Health Services (England) (18th September 2008)
A Royal College of Physicians (RCP) survey of 40 patients in England who had attended a falls clinic following a fall shows that while patients felt the clinics had helped them, they were not always sure about the purpose of the clinic and how it related to their own needs. This misunderstanding leads to patients not continuing with exercises and other activities which could help prevent another fall. In addition, patients were not always given the results of health tests or told about ways of reducing their risk of falling again, and were often unaware of what services were available.
Survey
Summary
Government response to the House of Lords European Union Committee Report on Increasing the supply of donor organs within the European Union, 17th Report of Session 2007-08 (17th September 2008)
The Government welcomes the opportunity to respond to the House of Lords European Union Committee Report. The Committee’s report provides an excellent body of evidence as work towards a European Directive in the area of organ donation proceeds. It also provides support for the implementation of the Organ Donation Taskforce Report recommendations published in January 2008.
Document
Flu immunisation campaign: local information pack (19th September 2008)
Support and guidance on raising awareness of the annual flu immunisation campaign running from September to December 2008. The pack contains advice, materials, and features to get the message out quickly and easily. It will be updated at a later date once supporting materials for the national campaign have been finalised, and these will be available for use locally.
Guidance
Press release templates
Patient letter templates
Venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk assessment (18th September 2008)
One of the main recommendations from the April 2007 expert working group report was that all hospitalised patients receive a VTE risk assessment upon admission to hospital. The VTE Implementation Working Group, with input from stakeholders and key partners have developed a VTE risk assessment for use in all hospitals.
Risk Assessment
Human rights in healthcare: reports from learning events (30th September 2008)
Reports from three human rights in healthcare learning events held nationally. The reports provide an overview of the learning event and highlights key learning and discussion from the event.
Liverpool Event
Birmingham Event
Southwark Event
Not just a matter of time. A review of urgent and emergency care services in England (26th September 2008)
The Healthcare Commission today (Friday) calls for a new drive to improve the system for delivering urgent and emergency care across England. The call comes as it publishes a major review covering all urgent and emergency services, which for the first time assesses how the whole system works together. The review includes ambulance services, A&E, out-of-hours GP services, NHS Direct, urgent care provided by GPs, and urgent care centres including walk-in centres and minor injuries units.
Report
Press Release
Documents
HIV post-exposure prophylaxis: guidance from the UK Chief Medical Officers’ Expert Advisory Group on AIDS (19th September 2008)
This document provides updated guidance on occupational HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) from the UK Chief Medical Officers' Expert Advisory Group on AIDS (EAGA) issued in February 2004 and the interim update following the withdrawal of Viracept (nelfinavir) published in July 2007. It should be read in conjunction with local needlestick injury policy.
Guidance
Equality Impact Assessment
New Guidelines for HIV testing and areas where wider HIV testing policies should be considered (18th September 2008)
New guidelines from the British HIV Association (BHIVA), the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH) and the British Infection Society (BIS) aiming to increase the offer of HIV testing to ensure fewer people go undiagnosed have been welcomed by the Health Protection Agency. The guidelines recommend that wider HIV testing should be considered in those areas of the country where the numbers of undiagnosed infections are likely to be greatest. To assist planning by Trusts, the Health Protection Agency is releasing information from its HIV surveillance systems showing those places where undiagnosed infections are concentrated.
Guidelines
Housing in England 2006/07: A report based on the 2006/07 Survey of English Housing (18th September 2008)
This report is based on information from the 17,849 households interviewed for the Survey of English Housing (SEH) in the year beginning April 2006. It also contains some analysis of housing-related data from the Labour Force Survey and the Family Resources Survey.
Report
In brief: The need for a common language to describe older people’s housing (26th September 2008)
A discussion paper from phase one of the Towards a Common Currency project noted that elderly people are often confused by the definitions and descriptions used to describe housing and other support. In this part of the project researchers discovered that most social housing landlords did not give sufficiently detailed descriptions of housing developments or schemes to elderly people or those acting on their behalf.
Brief
Report
In brief: The housing, care and support needs of South Asian elders (24th September 2008)
This research project looks at some of the practical challenges that South Asian elders face in meeting their housing and support needs. The project also captures some of the positive work being done by voluntary and community organisations, local authorities and housing associations on their behalf. This Innovation and Good Practice report for the Housing Corporation makes recommendations for policy makers and providers for the long term benefits of all concerned.
Brief
Report
Government response to the Communities and Local Government Committee’s report: The Supply of Rented Housing (18th September 2008)
This report contains the Government responses to 66 recommendations made by the CLG Select Committee in areas of housing covering: the experience of tenants; the social rented sector; the private rented sector, and housing providers.
Report
Developing and sustaining mixed tenure housing developments (25th September 2008)
This Round-up evaluates the strategic and policy context for housing development and neighbourhood renewal. The authors argue that integrating different housing tenures is an important prerequisite for developing ‘housing of choice’, but that there are many other aspects of sustainable communities which need to be given equal weight.
Document
Incapacity Benefit Profile for the Liverpool City Region (18th September 2008)
The North West Public Health Observatory (NWPHO) provided up-to-date, evidence-based research support to the Liverpool City Region Health is Wealth Commission, which was established to examine the growing gap between the City Region’s booming economic performance and its worsening public health status and to look at why this might be happening, and to make recommendations as to what might be done to help improve the situation. One of the Commission's key themes was incapacity benefit, and so NWPHO produced this summary report profiling incapacity benefit in the area to assist the Commission in such recommendations. The full Report of Health is Wealth is available in this Bulletin under Public Health.
Report
