Knowledge @lert for Tuesday 26th August

August 26, 2014 Daily News

Continuing healthcare funding report
Clinical commissioning groups are showing wide variation in NHS Continuing Care provision for people with dementia, according to a new report. Lost in the process: Experiences of accessing NHS continuing healthcare. The report, released by former MP Sally Keeble, follows a survey of 162 clinical commissioning groups, calls for a review of how CCGs assess people for continuing healthcare funding. It highlights a lack funding for advocacy services to provide support for families applying for continuing healthcare support.
Additional link: The Commissioning Review news report

Programme to improve the safety of patients
NHS Improving Quality is to coordinate a new national programme aimed at improving the safety of patients, and to ensure continual patient safety learning sits at the heart of healthcare in England. The programme will see 15 Patient Safety Collaboratives created, led by Academic Health Sciences Networks to tackle the leading causes of avoidable harm to patients. The collaboratives will empower local patients and healthcare staff to work together to identify safety priorities and develop solutions. These will then be implemented and tested within local healthcare organisations.

NHS Standard Contract for 2015/16 consultation
NHS England has published NHS Standard Contract for 2015/16 Discussion paper for stakeholders. In preparation for the 2015/16 update of the NHS Standard Contract, NHS England wishes to engage with stakeholders to assess how they can continue to improve the contract. This paper sets out some key issues on which feedback would be welcomed.

Integrated care updated payment guidance
Monitor has updated the content within the payment system section of guidance relating to integrated care published earlier in the year.Complying with Monitor’s integrated care requirements assists providers and commissioners of healthcare services, and health and wellbeing boards to comply with their integrated care obligations.

Diabetes care pathway: commissioning recommendations for psychological support
London Strategic Clinical Networks has published London diabetes care pathway: commissioning recommendations for psychological support. This guide provides recommendations for commissioners when providing emotional and psychological support on the diabetes care pathway. The report has been shaped from information gathered from discussions with professionals and people with lived experience and surveys identifying local provision in London.

System reform for A&E reimbursement payment
Monitor and NHS England have launched an open consultation process investigating how the reimbursement payment process system for urgent and emergency care can be reformed. To support the consultation they have published a series of options in a paper Reimbursement of urgent and emergency care: discussion document on options for reform. The paper describes: the case for reforming the urgent and emergency care payment approach; a suggested payment approach; preliminary options for implementing a new payment approach; and the next steps for Monitor and NHS England’s work.

NICE diagnostic support
NICE’s Health Technologies Adoption Programme has published NICE diagnostic support for viscoelastometric point-of-care testing (ROTEM, TEG and Sonoclot systems) HTDG13. This resource has been developed to provide practical information and advice on viscoelastometric point-of-care testing (ROTEM, TEG and Sonoclot systems) (NICE diagnostics guidance DG13). It is intended for use by both clinical and non-clinical staff who are planning to implement this NICE guidance and start using one of these technologies.

NHS England – Informed
NHS England has published the first issue of its new bulletin, Informed. Informed replaces NHS News. This first issue of the bulletin includes the following news items:
NHS England’s first Annual Report published
NHS England works in partnership to provide £2 million of support for vulnerable patients this winter Patients to benefit from new NHS England ‘Accessible Information Standard’
Survey reveals more needs to be done on choice for patients
NHS England engages on the NHS Standard Contract 2015/16
NHS to provide urgent care to the children of Gaza
Ebola outbreak in West Africa
NHS England’s Annual General Meeting and NHS Citizen’s Assembly

Population level commissioning for the future
NHS Improving Quality has published Population level commissioning for the future. This paper presents analysis of a Kent ‘whole population’ dataset, linking whole population demographics with activity and cost data for the population from acute, community, mental health and social care providers. The data aims to help commissioners to understand the impact of different selections methods for people with ‘very complex’ health and social care needs, particularly in relation to the development of a Long Term Conditions year of care currency. This document should be seen alongside the ‘Recovery, Rehabilitation and Reablement – step-by-step guide’ which describes how providers can carry out the audit in their organisations.

Patient level cost collection 2012/13
Monitor has published Patient Level cost collection 2012/13: review and lessons for the future. This document is intended to be used by all NHS staff responsible for, or contribute to, the production of cost information. It includes information that is relevant to the overall process of patient level costing and indicates where NHS providers should focus in the short to medium term.

NHS foundation trust accounts 2013/14
Monitor has published spreadsheets containing information on NHS foundation trusts’ accounts data and related information for 2013/14. The information is already available in individual NHS foundation trusts’ annual reports, however, this data file has been designed to make the data easier to locate and manipulate.
Additional link: Monitor press release

Update on Urgent and Emergency Care Review
NHS England has published Transforming urgent and emergency care services in England Update on the Urgent and Emergency Care Review. This update sets out what the review has been doing since the last reported in November 2013. It reports on progress with NHS England’s work with local commissioners and the development of their five year strategic and two year operational plans as well as updates on planning to develop demonstrator sites to trial new models, including the new NHS 111 service specification.

Safer management of controlled drugs
The Care Quality Commission has published The safer management of controlled drugs Annual report 2013. This seventh annual report into the management of controlled drugs examines the governance arrangements for controlled drugs during 2013 and in particular the implementation of the revised regulations which came into being on 1 April 2013. The report sets out that 2013 was a transitional year in which safe arrangements for controlled drugs were maintained despite changes in both legislation and the NHS.

Bulletin