Disruption to Library Services at Southport – Tuesday 10th March – Tuesday 24th March
The Hanley Library, Southport Clinical Education Centre is getting a facelift!
Access to the Hanley library, study areas, library PCs and the book stock will be restricted from Tuesday 10th March – Tuesday 24th March. Books currently on loan may be returned to the library by using the Blue Bookbin directly outside the Hanley Library.
The Library staff will continue to deal with enquiries, article requests and literature searches throughout this period. The Hanley Library will be completely closed to access between the Wednesday 18th- Friday 20th March (inclusive) while new flooring is laid.

• Contact the Library & Knowledge Service if you have any questions or Phn. 01704 704202

Shape of Caring Review report
Health Education England (HEE) has published the Shape of Caring Review report which was commissioned by HEE in partnership with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.  Raising the bar: a review of the future education and training of registered nurses and care assistants makes 34 recommendations for the future education and training of nurses and care assistants. 

Independent sector providers caring for NHS patients: infographic
NHS Partners Network has produced an infographic to highlight the contribution that independent sector providers make to caring for NHS patients.

Eyes on Evidence
The March 2015 issue of Eyes on Evidence has been published and includes the following items:

• HIV testing in healthcare settings other than specialist clinics
• Allopurinol for chronic gout
• Genetic testing for fetal chromosome abnormalities
• Child safeguarding in acute healthcare services
• Local food environment and diet in children and young people
• New NICE Evidence Search
• Case study from the Quality and Productivity collection
• Changes to NICE evidence awareness products
• Evidence Updates: NICE has recently published an Evidence Update on:  Feverish illness in children

Access to hospital care
The Nuffield Trust has published Access to hospital care: is the NHS on target? This fourth policy briefing in the run-up to the General Election 2015 examines how hospital trusts in England are performing against six national targets. The paper argues against the notion that dips in performance can be attributed to a handful of poorly performing hospital trusts, and finds there has been deterioration across the board in some measures. The targets examined are: the four-hour A&E target; the 18-week target for a hospital bed (inpatient treatment); the 18-week target for an outpatient appointment; the six-week target for diagnostic tests; the two-week target for urgent cancer referral; and the 31-day target for cancer treatment.

End of life care
The House of Commons Health Select Committee has published its fifth report focused on End of Life Care.  The Committee looked at the state of end of life care since the independent Review of the Liverpool Care Pathway, and found great variation in quality and practice across both acute and community settings.  The report makes a number of recommendations for improvement, and in particular recommends that social care should be free at the end of life.

Inequality across health and social care
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published Equal measures – Equality information report for 2014. This report looks at how CQC inspects services and what we have learned about equality, diversity and human rights. It is also a self-assessment on how the CQC, as an employer, promote equality and diversity.  This annual equality report focuses on variation in care specifically for older people and younger people and differences on the grounds of disability, ethnicity, religion and belief, sex, sexual orientation and gender identity.  It identifies that there is still too much variation in people’s access, experience and outcomes in many health and social care services on these grounds.

NICE guidance
NICE has published the following Evidence summary: unlicensed or off-label medicine guidance:

• Management of aggression, agitation and behavioural disturbances in dementia: carbamazepine (ESUOM40)
• Management of aggression, agitation and behavioural disturbances in dementia: valproate preparations (ESUOM41)