Article that considers how the Sefton CCGs identified where each CCG was an ‘outlier’ in terms of the outcomes it was achieving compared to other CCGs, and and how they gained insight into why and what they could do about it.
NHS Right Care and the Atlas of Variation were the first data sets that they looked at.This identified the areas where we were outliers, allowing them to look at other data sources such as Programme Budgeting, the Spend and Outcomes Tool (SPOT), different Health Profiles (eg. alcohol and mental health) and Advancing Quality Alliance (AQuA). They then summarised the findings into a couple of pages for each CCG which was used to develop the CCGs’ commissioning intentions.
Framework from Monitor that sets out best practice requirements across planned and urgent and emergency care that local healthcare systems should reflect in their local plans, as well as providing information on more general requirements such as operational planning, patient experience and planning for higher dependency patient groups.
RCN report that finds that the pay bill for senior NHS managers is accelerating ahead of pay for nursing staff. This report analyses the results of FOI requests sent to NHS provider trusts in England which revealed that the amount spent on executive directors over the last two years has increased by an average of 6.1%, compared to a 1.6% rise in earnings for nurses, midwives or health visitors.
The Peter Sowerby Commission Report finds effective implementation and use of electronic health records (EHRs) can reduce errors, identify better ways of providing care, ensure coordination across care teams and give
patients better care, better information and provide a better experience with regard to their health and treatment. If EHRs are safely and effectively introduced nationwide, and paper health records are replaced, the NHS in England could lead the world in the delivery of safe and effective patient-centred care. This document presents a strategy to accomplish this goal. It identifies 5 areas for action:
Ensure patients rights and expectations are met
Ensure clinicians have immediate access to up-to-date information
Design fit-for-purpose research databasese and use them responsibly to improve care
Implement open and interoprable electronic systems
Ensure the implementation programme is fit-for-purpose
A look at how organisational culture of safety can be affected by people not taking responsibility for failures and how learning opportunities can be lost if responsibility is uncertain.
Monitor’s latest guidance on integrated care looks at how healthcare providers and commissioners can enable better integration of care so services are less fragmented and easier for patients to access.
Monitor as the health sector regulator has a legal duty to consider how it can enable integrated care where this improves the quality, outcomes or efficiency of services or reduces inequalities of access or outcomes. The regulator has various powers that help it to:
remove barriers
consider how to enable integrated care provision including stopping things that block it
actively support the sector
But what about competition and integration – Monitor’s view is that “competition and integration are not mutually exclusive and that competition does not and should not have to come at the expense of beneficial co-ordination.”
This policy summary reviews the existing evidence on the economic impact of integrated care approaches. Whereas it is generally accepted that integrated care models have a positive effect on the quality of care, health outcomes and patient satisfaction, it is less clear how cost effective they are. The authors found that the evidence base in this field was not strong enough to thoroughly assess the cost-effectiveness of integrated care and that a readjustment of expectations in terms of its assessment was therefore required.
This review found that young people with complex health needs do not always receive the necessary care and support when they move on to adult care services. The transition process can be a vulnerable time for young people and their families. During this period, they stop receiving health services that they may have had since a young age and move on to equivalent adult services which can be structured and funded differently. The review found that there are many committed professionals providing high-quality care but that system-wide change is needed in order to make the transition between services smoother for patients and families.