Good Practice Guide: Service Reconfiguration
Planning, assuring and delivering service change for patients: A good practice guide for commissioners on the NHS England assurance process for major service changes and reconfiguration NHS England 1 November 2015 (updates previous edition Dec 2013)

• Guidance for those considering, and involved in, service reconfiguration to navigate a clear path from inception to implementation. It will support commissioners to consider how to take forward their proposals, including effective public involvement, enabling them to reach robust decisions on change in the best interests of their patients.
• Also sets out how new proposals for service change or reconfiguration are tested through independent review and assurance by NHS England.

What evidence is there on the effectiveness of different models of delivering urgent care? A rapid review, Health Services and Delivery Research, Vol:3, Iss:43
The review was completed in 6 months. In total, 45 systematic reviews and 102 primary research studies have been included across all five reviews. The key findings for each review are as follows: (1) demand – there is little empirical evidence to explain increases in demand for urgent care; (2) telephone triage – overall, these services provide appropriate and safe decision-making with high patient satisfaction, but the required clinical skill mix and effectiveness in a system is unclear; (3) extended paramedic roles have been implemented in various health settings and appear to be successful at reducing the number of transports to hospital, making safe decisions about the need for transport and delivering acceptable, cost-effective care out of hospital; (4) emergency department (ED) – the evidence on co-location of general practitioner services with EDs indicates that there is potential to improve care. The attempt to summarise the evidence about wider ED operations proved to be too complex and further focused reviews are needed; and (5) there is no empirical evidence to support the design and development of urgent care networks.

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NICE diabetes guidance to be updated constantly after ‘out-of-date’ criticism – GP Online 
GPs may have to check NICE diabetes guidelines continually to ensure they are aware of the latest advice in future, after NICE revealed it could regularly change to keep pace better with the latest developments in care.

CCGs could pick ‘min’ or ‘max’ roles under NHS England strategy – HSJ
Clinical commissioning groups could decide between having a “minimal” or “maximal” role under a list of options NHS England is developing, which it says will redefine the boundary between commissioning and provision.

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Simulation in undergraduate paediatrics: a cluster-randomised trial – The Clinical Teacher
Medical students lack confidence in recognising, assessing and managing unwell patients, particularly children. Our aim was to evaluate the impact of a 1-day novel paediatric simulation course on medical students’ ability to recognise and assess sick children, and to evaluate medical students’ views on the use of simulation in child health teaching. There were 61 students in the study: 32 in the intervention group and 29 in the control group. Self-assessed confidence in recognising, assessing and managing a sick child was higher after the simulation course, compared with controls (p < 0.001). Six key themes were identified, including: increased confidence in emergency situations; the value of learning through participation in ‘real-life’ realistic scenarios in a safe environment; and an appreciation of the importance of human factors. Students found the simulation useful and wanted it offered to all undergraduates during child health attachments.

• Contact the Library & Knowledge Service to request this article in full or Phn. 01704 704202

NICE guidance: transition between inpatient hospital settings and community settings for adults with social care needs – NICE
NICE has published Transition between inpatient hospital settings and community or care home settings for adults with social care needs (NG27). This guideline covers the transition between inpatient hospital settings and community or care homes for adults with social care needs. It aims to improve people’s experience of admission to, and discharge from, hospital by better coordination of health and social care services.

Revised draft guidance for doctors on confidentiality (including fitness to drive) – GMC
The General Medical Council has launched a public consultation on its revised draft guidance on confidentiality. The guidance has been reviewed to ensure it is clear, helpful, relevant to doctors’ needs and compatible with the law throughout the UK. It reviews the seven explanatory statements that give more detailed advice on how to apply the principles in the confidentiality guidance to situations that doctors often encounter, or find hard to deal with. The GMC press release specifically draws attention to a doctor’s duty to disclose information to the DVLA where a patient continues to drive against medical advice. The consultation closes on 10 February 2016.

Raising concerns assessment tool
NHS Employers has published a Draw the line self-assessment tool. This tool is designed to assist organisation to assess their capability in relation to supporting staff to raise concerns.  It has been designed to be completed by Human Resources or an individual within the organisation with responsibility for raising concerns and should be used alongside local and national staff survey data for maximum effect.  It can be used to evidence strengths and identify any areas that need improvement or action.

NICE guidance
Interventional Procedure Guidance

Technology Appraisal Guidance