Contact the Library for further information on any of the topics listed below.

Commissioning guidance for rehabilitation services
NHS England has published Commissioning guidance for rehabilitation.  This guidance is intended for use by CCGs to support them in commissioning rehabilitation services for their local population. The document outlines: what rehabilitation is; the components of good quality rehabilitation; how to know whether the services that are being commissioned are of good quality; and how to compare rehabilitation services locally, regionally and nationally.

Hundreds fewer junior doctors apply for key specialty training – Health Service Journal
Hundreds of junior doctors have not applied to continue their NHS training in key hospital based specialties, according to data from Health Education England.

2016/17 NHS standard contract
The NHS Standard Contract has been updated for 2016/17.  The contract is mandated by NHS England for use by commissioners for all contracts for healthcare services other than primary care.  For the first time, NHS England has published a shorter-form version of the Contract, for use in defined circumstances. This will complement the full-length version of the Contract.  Guidance on when each form of Contract should be used is set out in the Technical Guidance.

NHS property company to raise rents to market levels – Health Service Journal
Many GPs and other primary care providers will be billed for higher rents from this month in a move towards charging market rates for NHS properties.

Raising concerns (whistleblowing) policy
NHS Improvement and NHS England have published Freedom to speak up: raising concerns (whistleblowing) policy for the NHS.  This policy contributes to the need to develop a more open and supportive culture that encourages staff to raise any issues of patient care quality or safety.  It is expected that it will be adopted by all NHS organisations in England as a minimum standard to help to normalise the raising of concerns for the benefit of all patients.

Lean and Six Sigma in acute care: a systematic review of reviews – International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Volume 29, Issue 2, Page 192-208, March 2016.
This is the first broad systematic review of reviews, synthesizing data pertaining to implementation issues and results in acute care settings, to be published. It will benefit health care managers assessing the potential of these approaches and the potential drawbacks associated with their implementation. Moreover, it identifies directions for future research.

Pharmaceutical pricing of new medicines
The University of York Centre for Health Economics has published Pharmaceutical pricing: early access, the cancer drugs fund and the role of NICE.  This briefing paper examines the issues that NHS patients face in accessing new medicines and the discrepancy between the price charged and how much the NHS can afford to pay for the benefits they offer.

NICE guidance: preoperative tests for elective surgery
NICE has published new guidance Routine preoperative tests for elective surgery (NG45).  This guideline covers routine preoperative tests for people aged over 16 who are having elective surgery. It aims to reduce unnecessary testing by advising which tests to offer people before minor, intermediate and major or complex surgery, taking into account specific comorbidities (cardiovascular, renal and respiratory conditions and diabetes and obesity). It does not cover pregnant women or people having cardiovascular procedures or neurosurgery.

Cancer support partnership
The RAND corporation has published Evaluation of the UCLH-Macmillan Partnership to deliver improvements in the care, treatment, support, and information to patients with cancer throughout their individual journeys.  The University College London Hospitals NHS Trust—Macmillan Cancer Support partnership is intended to improve the experiences of carers and patients with cancer by improving the whole journey from diagnosis through to palliation, and to embed this in a system that actively engages patients and carers. The evaluation aims to assess the working of the partnership and its capacity to support the partners’ plans to move forward.

Nurses could be offered enhanced rates to return to NHS – Health Service Journal
A foundation trust is considering paying nurses enhanced hourly rates to attract them back from agency work.

NICE advice
Evidence summary: new medicine

Medtech innovation briefings

Evidence summary: unlicensed or off-label medicine

Evidence summary: medicines and prescribing briefing

Bulletins

• Maternity Services Monthly Statistics – November 2015, Experimental statistics
• Dementia assessment and referral return – January 2016
• NHS Injury Costs Recovery (ICR) scheme – amounts collected April 2015 to March 2016