Knowledge @lert for Thursday 30th October

October 30, 2014 Daily News

Leading local partnerships
NHS Clinical Commissioners has published Leading local partnerships: how CCGs are driving integration for their patients and local populations. This publication profiles 10 case studies from clinical commissioning groups who are driving new and innovative models of care that put the patient at the heart of the system, and are improving the health and wellbeing of their local populations.

NICE guidance: gallstone disease
NICE has published clinical guideline 188 on Gallstone disease. This guideline offers evidence-based advice on the diagnosis and management of gallstone disease in adults. It addresses some of the uncertainties around managing gallstone disease and provides recommendations about how it should be identified, diagnosed and managed in adults.

Start well, live better: a manifesto for the public’s health – Faculty for Public Health (FPH)
This manifesto is the culmination of an extensive consultation with FPH members about the top public health priorities for this government and the next. From children’s health to climate change, it sets out 12 important and practical actions for anyone serious about giving our children the best possible chance of a healthy and happy life.

Growing concern about staff morale as NHS performance slips – The King’s Fund
Our latest survey of finance directors reveals the highest level of pessimism about the financial position of health organisations since we began surveying in the autumn of 2011. For the first time since we began our quarterly survey, no one expressed any degree of optimism about the financial state of their local health economies over the next year. Nearly half (47 per cent) of trust finance directors surveyed for the report identified staff morale as one of their top three concerns, twice as many as in the previous quarter. The report suggests this should be a significant cause for concern given the close link between staff engagement and quality of care.

Better care plans to help elderly and reduce hospital visits – Department of Health
The plans, which will also provide more dignity for older people and reduce the length of stay in hospital, are funded by the government’s £5.3 billion Better Care Fund. It was originally set at £3.8 billion but has increased significantly following additional local investment. It will bring GPs, community nurses, and care workers together so they can provide better care closer to home. This will keep people independent and healthy for longer and prevent unnecessary stays in hospital and give families more confidence in how their loved ones are looked after.

Healthier Lives tool
A new tool which shows mapped variation for local authorities, CCGs and GP surgeries for diabetes, hypertension and NHS Health Check has been launched by Public Health England. Healthier Lives is an interactive ‘heat map’ which includes information on prevalence of the conditions and their complications, levels of care provided and the quality of care achieved in each area by local authority, CCG and general practice compared to the England average.

Outline proposals on data security for care sector
The Health and Social Care Information Centre and the Department of Health have published outline proposals to ensure data security across the care sector. The five proposal areas are: strengthen compliance to certify that organisations meet their obligations and report publicly on their performance; enable organisations to access the best available services and resources to help them meet their obligations; work with commissioners and regulators to ensure data security and information governance requirements are prerequisites for providing services; establish an independent audit programme managed by the HSCIC that will continually test security arrangements across the system; and establish a national security strategy to underpin both national and local information systems.

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