Knowledge @lert for Tuesday 23rd August

August 23, 2016 CCG Daily News Uncategorized

The hospital at home model: bringing hospital-level care to the patient – The Commonwealth Fund
This case study is one in an ongoing series examining programmes that aim to improve outcomes and reduce the cost of care for patients with complex needs, who account for a large share of U.S. health care spending. This case study looks at an initiative that offers patients the option of receiving hospital-level care at home rather than in-hospital.

Securing meaningful choice for patients
NHS England and NHS Improvement have published Securing meaningful choice for patients: CCG planning and improvement guide. This guide is intended to help CCGs comply with their duty to enable patients to make choices and to promote the involvement of patients in decision about their care and treatment. The guide includes enablers for patient choice and actions that can be taken to deliver them. CCGs are encouraged to self-asses against these actions and develop an improvement plan to maximise opportunities for choice.

Demand management good practice guide
NHS England has published Demand management good practice guide to support commissioners and providers to effectively manage demand for NHS services. The guide covers peer review of referrals; shared decision making; choice; advice and guidance; alternatives to outpatient appointments; consultant-to-consultant referral protocols; direct access to diagnostics; and management and monitoring of outpatient follow-up appointments. It contains case studies and links to further information.

Specialist Pharmacy Service
At the beginning go of August, the Specialist Pharmacy Service (SPS) launched a new website. The Specialist Pharmacy Service supports medicine optimisation across the NHS with the aim to ‘improve the use of medicines so people live longer, fuller lives’. The site contains information about medicines, services and networks and is intended for pharmacists, GPs and clinicians.

CCGs vary widely in how well they deliver healthcare, new measure shows – BMJ
New indicators show that primary care clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in England vary widely in their ability to deliver healthcare equitably to rich and poor people. Some inner city areas, such as Tower Hamlets in east London, have done well on the new measure, while others, such as central Manchester, did poorly. A large gap could also be seen in affluent areas, with south Cheshire performing relatively badly while east Surrey did well.

Ballot on industrial action by GPs averted as government accepts BMA’s demands – BMJ
The BMA’s GP leaders have said that they will not be balloting members on whether to take industrial action, after NHS England agreed to discuss the union’s plans for tackling the crisis in general practice.

Private provider beats trusts and GP federation to community contract – Health Service Journal
Virgin Care has been named preferred provider to provide adult community services in the south of England as part if an alliance contract, ahead of a bid from local trusts and a GP federation.

Commissioners insist Virgin Care will make no ‘margin’ on Bath contract – Health Service Journal
A CCG and council in the South West have claimed Virgin Care will make no “margin” on a community services contract it has been chosen as the preferred bidder for.

Revealed: £6m spent on redundancies at closed CSUs – Health Service Journal
The bill for redundancies following the shutting of two commissioning support units reached more than £6m, HSJ can reveal.

Trust approves £300k increase in nurse spending following inspection – Health Service Journal
A trust in Wiltshire, which was told to improve staffing levels earlier this year, has earmarked nearly £300,000 for additional nursing staff.

Councils say they should be ‘equal partners’ in STPs – NHE
Plans to improve integration of health and social care are being held back because local councils are not being included as equal partners, local authority leaders in the south east have said. In a letter to health secretary Jeremy Hunt, the council leaders said that sustainability and transformation plans (STPs) will struggle to deliver…

The medicine needed for the emergency care service – Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM)
This report, written jointly with the Royal College of Nursing, outlines key recommendations from both organisations on reducing the pressures on emergency medical services in the UK. The report calls for a commitment for education funding, provision of training time and a realistic workforce planning strategy for emergency care. It also highlights the need for a change in culture to enable emergency departments to be more collaborative and to adopt a hub structure.

Plans to cut jobs at Health Education England could impact GP recruitment, campaigners warn – GP Online
Campaigners have warned that a consultation by Health Education England (HEE) to cut two fifths of jobs in the London region could ‘undermine’ the recruitment and training of new doctors.

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