Knowledge @lert for Wednesday 7th October

October 7, 2015 CCG Daily News

Trusts continue acute care collaboration despite failed vanguard bid – Health Service Journal
Four acute trusts in Lancashire will continue discussions about sharing services, despite failing to secure ‘vanguard’ status.  The trusts had requested project management and cash support from NHS England under its acute care collaboration vanguard programme, but their bid was not among the 13 approved by the national body last month. The trusts are: East Lancashire Hospitals Trust; Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust; Blackpool Teaching Hospitals FT; and University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay FT.

Taking the temperature: Review of NHS agency staff spend – quarterly update, Q1 2015/16 – Liaison
This research looks at pay and commission rates paid by 51 trusts in Q1 2015/16, comparing results with the previous quarter, as well as by type and region. It shows 

  1. 85% of temporary medical locum staff bookings, excluding nurses, are made to fill vacancies for permanent positions. That costs around £1bn a year.
  2. the top 10, highest paid locum consultants, cost us a total of £3.4m a year
  3. agency staffing, as a whole, including nursing, costs around £3.3bn a year, up on last year by almost a £billion.

Foundation trust and NHS trust mergers 2010 to 2015 – The King’s Fund
Mergers of trusts in the NHS are often instigated by national bodies so that NHS trusts can gain foundation trust status or failing providers can be rescued from financial difficulties. This report looks at 20 mergers between 2010 and mid-2015 and finds that significant sums of money are being spent on such mergers (£2 billion on just 12 mergers over this period), often based on faulty reasoning and a lack of evidence that mergers offer lasting solutions. It recommends the Department of Health, Monitor and the Trust Development Authority should support service improvement and transformation where possible, rather than instigate merger. If a merger is contemplated, there needs to be a more realistic assessment of the costs and benefits.

NHS changes with effect from 1 October 2015
NHS Confederation has issued a list of new arrangements for health and care services in England which came into effect on 1 October 2015.  The list sets out what these new arrangement are and where to find further information and guidance.  It covers nursing agency spend, public health commissioning, tobacco, e-cigarettes and smoking, female genital mutilation reporting, NHS number, referral to treatment waiting times, GMS contract, electronic discharge summaries and SMS services.

Closer cooperation on medicine safety
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has signed a memorandum of understanding with its counterpart body in India. This agreement will increase collaboration between the two countries in the area of medicines and medical devices with the aim of further improving public safety in both countries.

Using webinars to share nationally what works locally in Health and Social Care – Academy of Fabulous NHS Stuff
Over the last 5 years over 5,000 patients, clinicians, managers and informatics (people working in IT and information roles) staff have got involved in sharing, discussing and learning from their local experiences in using technology to improve health and care.  They’re so simple to set up, cost virtually nothing to run and if people can’t make it they can still view the recordings and get copies of all the resources that have been shared within 24 hours.

Junior doctor contracts in England
The House of Commons library has published Junior doctor contracts in England. This briefing provides background information on the introduction of a new contract for doctors in training (junior doctors) in England, including a summary of the proposed changes, and an update on the current state of negotiations between NHS Employers and the BMA. The briefing also provides some brief information on the delivery of seven day services and proposed changes to the consultant contract.

Core principles of training for doctors
The British Medical Association has published Pre and post qualification training and development of doctors: a British Medical Association vision. This document sets out some core principles that would underpin the purpose of training, making training and development integral to services and service planning, resourced and quality based.  Proposals include ensuring training better reflects the needs of patients, allowing for continuous learning, and improving flexibility to accommodate the needs of doctors.

NICE guidance
NICE has published the following guidance:

NICE shared learning: Peer Support Meetings for Pharmacists / Oral healthcare for children
NICE has added two new case studies to its shared learning data base the details are as follows:

Bulletins

Statistics

Knowledge @lert for Monday 5th October

Knowledge @lert for Friday 9th October