Go gentle into that good night: the past, present, and future of end-of-life care –  RAND
End-of-life care has received increasing attention in recent years as the baby boomers age and health care costs continue to rise. This attention has brought with it remarkable growth in the field and improvement in care, but there remains work to be done in order to more consistently deliver high quality, compassionate, and patient- and family-centred end-of-life care. This dissertation examines the past, present, and future of end-of-life care in order to shed light on the most effective ways to organise and deliver it.

Revised Medicines Optimisation Dashboard
NHS England has launched a full revision of the Medicines Optimisation Dashboard to help CCGs improve and understand how well patients across the country are being supported to use their medicines. The dashboard brings together data and aligns it to various themes including patient safety, mental health, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, diabetes, antibiotic prescribing and community pharmacy. The data will allow local NHS organisations to highlight variation in local practice and stimulate discussion on the appropriateness of local care.

NHS foundation trusts: quarterly performance report
Monitor has published its final performance report for the foundation trust sectorfor the year ended 31 March 2015. Performance of the foundation trust sector: year ended 31 March 2015 shows thatthe 152 foundation trusts missed a number of national waiting times targets for A&E, routine operations and some cancer treatments for the entire year. The sector also ended 2014/15 in deficit (-£349 million) for the first time.  An infographic has also been published to summaries the information.

Survey finds patients positive about their hospital stay
The Care Quality Commission and the NHS has published the National results from the 2014 Inpatient Survey. It looked at the experiences of over 59,000 people who were admitted to an NHS hospital in 2014. Most people reported an overall positive experience of their inpatient care. The majority of respondents said that they were ‘always’ treated with respect and dignity and that they ‘always’ had confidence and trust in the nurses and doctors treating them. However, the results also indicate some areas where patients’ experiences of care were less positive, which include: people’s experiences of being admitted; the information and support they received while they were an inpatient and being discharged from hospital.
Additional link: Picker institute press release

Cancer Drugs Fund update
NHS England has published an updated Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) list following decisions, made by cancer doctors and patient representatives at the last national CDF panel meeting, that aim to deliver the maximum clinical benefit for patients. The updated CDF list reflects the outcomes of the appeals from pharmaceutical companies following the removal of drugs after the panel meeting in December 2014.  Decisions on seven new applications to the fund have also been published.

NICE consultations
Chronic heart failure (QS update): topic engagement.  Closing date for comment 3 June 2015

NICE guidance
NICE has published the following guidance:

• LARS for reconstructing damaged intra-articular cruciate knee ligaments (MIB30) Medtech innovation briefing
• Peptest for diagnosing gastro‑oesophageal reflux (MIB31) Medtech innovation briefing

Bulletins

• Health Protection Report volume 9 – issue 18 (2015)
• Emergency department bulletin
• Liaison and Diversion Bulletin – May 2015
• In touch– Issue 4 2015