Research and analysis: English surveillance programme antimicrobial utilisation and resistance (ESPAUR) report – HM Government
The English surveillance programme for antimicrobial utilisation and resistance (ESPAUR) report presents antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance trends in primary and secondary care (2010 to 2013) to NHS Area Team level in one place for the first time, and allows organisations to benchmark themselves against regional and national results.
It forms a standard against which antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance can be compared in successive years and a resource for commissioning and implementing antimicrobial stewardship policies in England. Furthermore, the report describes the future plans for enhanced surveillance of antimicrobial consumption and resistance. The ESPAURreport delivers on several key aspects of the UK 5-Year Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) strategy.

Guidance: West Africa Ebola outbreak: guidance to UK ports and shipping operators – Guidance on GOV.UK
Offers general guidance for minimising the risk to:

• seafarers
• port workers
• passengers
• others in the maritime environment

from the current outbreak of Ebola in West Africa.

Draft knowledge and skills statement for social workers in adult services: a consultation – Department of Health (DH)
This consultation seeks views on a draft statement explaining what adult social workers need to know after their first year in employment.

Sustaining a safe and quality nursing workforce
NHS Employers held a free national event on ‘Sustaining a Safe and Quality Nursing Workforce’. The event for directors of nursing and workforce leaders took place on Tuesday 23 September in Birmingham.
The event gave attendees the opportunity to:

• hear from national leads on their nursing workforce programmes
• provide feedback that will be used to help shape their work
• listen to examples of practical solutions in our interactive workshop sessions

Download the slides from the event here.

Natural solutions for tackling health inequalities – UCL Institute of Health Equity 
This report highlights the evidence of the benefits of green spaces to health and wellbeing outcomes, and the inequalities in use of, and access to, natural environments across England. It finds that these inequalities contribute to health inequalities. It also proposes ways to improve access and use of green space, in order to improve health equity.

NHS facing financial meltdown – RCN
Responding to a new report by the King’s Fund looking at NHS budget deficits and the financial failure regime in the health service, the RCN has stated that the situation is hugely concerning.

Public engagement, not just about the public – Involve
The design and implementation of public involvement process can help support or undermine broad support for public engagement. This briefing paper synthesises existing research on what motivates each group to engage and provides an overview of the specific elements of the design and implementation of engagement that can shape these motivations in the long term.

Financial failure in the NHS: what causes it and how best to manage it – The King’s Fund
This report describes the current financial state of the NHS and the reasons for the deterioration in financial performance and ultimately financial failure. These include weak leadership, legacy costs, Payment by Result tariffs, and the impact of the wider health economy.

Monitor: organisation structure – Monitor 
This chart show’s Monitor’s organisational structure as at October 2014.

Everything you always wanted to know about European Union health policies but were afraid to ask – World Health Organization (WHO) 
This book focuses on four aspects of EU health policy: the EU institutions, processes and powers related to health; the EU action taken on the basis of this health mandate; the non-health action affecting health and health systems; and, because of its growing importance, financial governance and what it means for European health systems. It is aimed at policymakers and students of public health and health systems in the EU who want to understand how the EU can add value in their quest improving population health and the performance of health systems in Member States.

Never Events Policy Framework review – a consultation – NHS England
The Never Events Policy Framework is designed to provide healthcare workers, clinicians, managers, boards and accountable officers with clarity around their responsibilities and clarity on the principles of never events. In particular, it is designed to be clear about what they are expected to do in terms of preventing never events and how they must respond to them if they should occur, including clarity around incident reporting. This framework is being reviewed to address feedback from NHS providers and commissioners on a number of uncertainties around the existing Never Events Policy Framework. The consultation runs until 31 October 2014.

National Pregnancy in Diabetes Audit Report 2013
The Health and Social Care Information Centre has published the National Pregnancy in Diabetes Audit 2013. The report is the first annual national picture of the quality of care and outcomes for women with diabetes who become pregnant.  The audit looks at three key questions: were women adequately prepared for pregnancy; were adverse maternal outcomes minimised and were adverse fetal/infant outcomes minimised?

NICE has issued two new guidance guidelines:  

• Multiple sclerosis: management of multiple sclerosis in primary and secondary care (CG186). This guideline replaces NICE clinical guideline 8 (published November 2003). It offers evidence-based advice on the care and treatment of adults with multiple sclerosis.
• Acute heart failure: diagnosing and managing acute heart failure in adults (CG187). This clinical guideline offers evidence-based advice on the care and management of adults with acute heart failure or possible acute heart failure.

Additional links: NICE Press release multiple sclerosis  NICE press release acute heart failure