This bulletin highlights recently produced documents that have appeared on websites. The aim is to trawl the web and produce a fortnightly review of what is found (coverage may not be comprehensive). If you have any comments or suggestions regarding this Bulletin, please send an email to library.pct@sthk.nhs.uk. All links are correct at time of publishing. Some documents are large and may take time to open so please be patient when waiting for links to open. If a link is incorrect please email me and I will correct the link and send you the document.For those that are receiving this through an email or through a third party you can view the original Bulletin at http://www.newdocumentsbulletin.blogspot.com/ and also sign up to receive the Bulletin by RSS.
Under the influence - the damaging effect of alcohol marketing on young people (7th September 2009)This report, from the British Medical Association, examines the damaging effect of alcohol marketing on young people. It aims to identify effective ways of protecting young people from the influence of alcohol promotion and marketing, thereby redressing the excessively pro-alcohol social norms to which they are exposed.
Report Too much teen spirit (14th September 2009)St Albans, like so many towns and cities, has its share of young binge drinkers. Police, parents, teachers and healthcare workers seek ways to convince them that what starts out as fun can turn into trouble and danger.
One recent addition to their communications toolbox is a no nonsense film produced by the young people themselves.
Information Integrated care pathway for alcohol services: from guidance to local delivery (published July 2009 new to website 6th September 2009)This document is from the Centre for Public Health Research at University of Chester. It includes information with links for best practice in the delivery of alcohol services.
Document
National Poisons Information Service - Annual Report 2008/09 (10th September 2009)In 2008/9, NPIS received more than 625,000 poisons-related telephone and online enquiries from health care professionals - up 19% from 2007/8. There were in excess of 570,000 online enquiries, up 20%. NPIS has encouraged the use of online enquiries as a first point of call for information while its telephone service is devoted to more complex cases. More than 57,000 telephone enquiries were answered in 2008/09, an increase of around 9%.
Annual Report
Protecting Children - Supporting Foster Carers: Dealing with an allegation (September 2009)Foster carers, like other childcare workers, can find themselves facing allegations about the quality of their care. It is always important that such allegations are taken seriously and investigated properly as experience has shown that, on rare occasions, children are ill-treated by the very people who are supposed to care for them.
This publication is aimed at foster carers and their families, but it will also be helpful to childcare workers involved in investigations of foster carers, looked after young people, their advocates and birth families.
Booklet Doing Better for Children (1st September 2009)The well-being of children is high on the policy agenda across the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). But what is the actual state of child well-being today? How much are governments spending on children and are they spending it at the right times? What social and family policies have the most impact during children’s earliest years? Is growing up in a single-parent household detrimental to children? Is inequality that persists across generations a threat to child well-being? Doing Better for Children addresses these questions and more.
Report
Commissioning for Carers (8th September 2009)The guide was funded by the Department of Health and serves as blueprint for better commissioning for carers.
Key recommendations in the guides include:
think ‘carer’ in all commissioning and joint strategic needs assessments (JSNA)
improve outcomes, independence and choices for both carers and those they care for
involve carers of all groups and communities in decision-making and planning processes
strengthen the carer support provider market, using a variety of funding approaches.
Guide Population Health Manager (9th September 2009)Dr Foster has responded to the increasing focus on reducing the demand for healthcare and developing a deeper understanding of the population, with the development of a new tool. Population Health Manager allows commissioners and public health professionals to define any group of people within a PCT and immediately access all the necessary data about their health including life expectancy, causes of death, prevalence of illness and frequency of admission to hospital.
Information World class commissioning: September update (15th September 2009)This letter from Claire Whittington gives a world class commissioning (WCC) progress report, including the launch of WCC assurance Year 2, the PBC national clinical network, new support and development resources including datapacks, and an update on the programme of Integrated Care Pilots.
Update World class commissioning assurance - launch of Year 2 (16th September 2009)Today marks the launch of the second year of world class commissioning (WCC) assurance. WCC assurance is the national system that holds PCTs to account, whilst providing support for them as they start to become world class commissioners.
Over 300 NHS chief executives, chairs, PEC chairs and other key stakeholders are gathering in London to hear about the framework for WCC assurance Year 2, which has been refined with extensive input from SHAs and PCTs.
Attendees will each receive a copy of the new WCC assurance handbook. This is a guide for PCTs and SHAs that explains WCC assurance in detail.
Guidance Department of Health seeks views of commissioners of health and wellbeing (September 2009)The primary care and community services team at the Department of Health is preparing a guide to commissioning health and wellbeing services, which will look at, among others, practical measures of support for commissioners. The DH PCCS team is running an online survey to seek the views of primary care and practice-based commissioners.
Survey
Supporting our future NHS workforce: a consultation on the NHS Bursary Scheme (15th September 2009)This consultation is seeking the views of staff, patients, students and other stakeholders on the future of financial support for NHS-funded students. We are consulting on a number of options that we believe will enhance the existing way in which we support prospective NHS staff through their educational pathway.
Closing date for comments is 11th December 2009
ConsultationPandemic influenza and the Mental Health Act 1983: consultation on proposed changes to the Mental Health Act 1983 and its associated secondary legislation (10th September 2009)The Department of Health are inviting comments on proposals for temporary amendments to the Mental Health Act 1983 which may be required in the event of the severe staff shortages that may be expected during an influenza pandemic.
Closing date for comments is 7th October 2009
ConsultationNHS waiting times statistics (8th September 2009)The Department of Health are consulting on proposals to discontinue some current inpatient and outpatient collections.
Closing date for comments is 1st December 2009.
Consultation
The use of 084 telephone numbers in the NHS: Department of Health response to consultation (14th September 2009)This is the Department’s response to the recent consultation document which sought views from all interested parties on the use of 084 numbers in the NHS. This document sets out proposed action as a result of the consultation.
Consultation response
Guidelines for the Delivery of a Domiciliary Oral Healthcare Service (September 2009)The British Society for Disability and Oral Health have published these revised guidelines. Some people are not always able to travel to a dental surgery, and for these, access to oral healthcare services is only achievable through the provision of domiciliary oral healthcare.
This document:
- alerts PCTs and service providers to the need for maintaining and increasing the availability of Domiciliary Oral Healthcare Services (DOHCS)
- Provides guidance for the commissioning of high quality DOHCS
- Provides guidance to establish standards for the delivery of high quality DOHCS
Guidance
Review of the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) (8th September 2009)The Department of Health has a responsibility to carry out reviews of its agencies periodically to ensure they are fit for purpose and are operating in the most efficient way. A review of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) was carried out between October 2008 and March 2009 and the report and recommendations can be found below.
Report
Aiming high for disabled children: delivering improved health services (8th September 2009)Providing effective health services for disabled children will improve outcomes for them and their families, ensure the child receives the best quality of care and provide better value for money. This report examines best practice around the country. It draws on examples of services for disabled children that meet users’ needs, respond to the government agenda and are effective from both a quality and a cost point of view.
Report
Tomorrow's Doctors (September 2009)The General Medical Council (GMC) sets the knowledge, skills and behaviours that medical students should learn at UK medical schools. It also sets standards for teaching, learning and assessment. All of these requirements are set out in this publication.
Publication
Druglink street drug trends survey 2009 (11th September 2009)A downward trend in the quality of illegal drugs on the UK’s street drug market could be driving changes in patterns of drug use, with users increasingly interchanging or combining a range of low quality drugs, according to DrugScope’s 2009 Street Drug Trends Survey.
The survey compiles and analyses feedback from 70 drug services, police forces, drug action teams and service user groups in 20 towns and cities across the UK. It illuminates patterns in the use and supply of substances to give a snapshot view of current UK street drug trends. The survey also compiles the national average prices of different drugs on the UK street drug market.
Survey
Press Release
Luton Borough Council befriending older people (11th September 2009)The Luton Partnership for Older Persons Project (POPP) helps people at both ends of the spectrum of need:
- older people with mental health problems who have high levels of need
- older people with the early symptoms of ill health.
Information
Think Family Toolkit - Improving Support for Families at Risk (September 2009)Think Family means securing better outcomes for children, young people and families with additional needs by co-ordinating the support they receive from children’s, young people’s, adults’ and family services.
This Toolkit sets out some of the ways in which these practices can be developed ‘on the ground’ and represents an important step towards setting out how Think Family can be made a reality in day-to-day practice. Much of what it contains has been developed locally and reflects the enormous commitment and ingenuity of those working with children, mothers, fathers and families.
Toolkit
The Quarter: quarter 1, 2009/10 (10th September 2009)David Flory’s first quarterly report of 2009/10 on NHS finance and service performance, shows that the NHS has started 2009/10 well, building on last year’s success.The latest data on the reduction of healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) show that the risk of infection with MRSA bacteraemia or C. difficile is at its lowest for five years. Most hospitals are already achieving the 2010 target levels for reducing C. difficile infections by 30 percent against the 2007/08 baseline, having achieved a national reduction of 35 percent over the last financial year. The NHS has sustained operational standards on 18 weeks and has improved access to primary care services by further increasing the number of GP practices offering extended opening hours.Report
Report on the increased incidence of Listeriosis in the UK (14th September 2009)The Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food (ACMSF) has, after public consultation, published a report on increased incidence of listeriosis in the UK.
Following reports of an increase in cases of listeria, predominantly in the over-60s age group, the Food Standards Agency sought advice from the ACMSF, an independent scientific advisory committee, on the reasons for this change. Similar increases were also reported in other European countries, including France and Germany.
Recommendations include:
- studies to investigate differences in virulence of listeria
- maintaining targeted active surveillance for listeria spp. in foods is important to inform control of this organism
- information on food consumption patterns of the over 60s (including vulnerable groups) is needed to inform approaches to risk management
- communicating general food safety advice to the over 60s, as well as to those involved in their care and preparation of their food
Report
News item
New PAGB/RCGP Flu leaflet to be delivered to Pharmacies and GP surgeries (11th September 2009)The Proprietary Association of Great Britain (PAGB) and the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) have jointly published a new leaflet "The battle against flu and colds". The leaflet will be delivered to pharmacies and GP surgeries across the UK from 14th September 2009.
Leaflet
Building better lives (9th September 2009)Building better lives finds that councils feel pressured into focusing on building brand new housing - 94 per cent of councils have prioritised new and/or affordable housing targets through their local area agreements, but fewer than a third prioritised targets relating to their existing housing stock. This is despite the financial savings, environmental improvements and social benefits of doing so.
If councils thought of housing more broadly, they could do more to combat poverty, ill-health, educational under-achievement and help strengthen their local communities. The recession makes a strategic view of housing all the more important.
Report
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
