Preventing avoidable hospital admissions – The University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham has published Who knows best? Older people’s contribution to understanding and preventing avoidable hospital admissions.  With estimates of over two  million unplanned hospital admissions per year of people aged over 65, questions are often asked such as: ‘Do they really need to be there? Is there nowhere more suitable for them to go? The findings of this study confirm the belief that older people have an important role to play in helping understand the nature of emergency admissions and to devise appropriate responses to their rising numbers. Ignoring this expertise could be detrimental to ensuring older people get the appropriate care they need.

County CCG plans ‘significant’ hospital consolidation – Health Service Journal
Oxfordshire health services will see “significant structural change” as part of transformation plans currently under discussion, HSJ can reveal, with the Horton General Hospital singled out as “not sustainable in its current form”.

Don’t let old-style contracting hinder your STPs, leaders told – NHE
NHS England is hoping to get all 44 STP plans assured by the end of the year, at which point they would be turned into contracts and implemented regionally over four years, its national director for operations and information said – adding that footprints should not let old-style contracting stop them from “doing the right…

GPs urged to report hospitals’ contract breaches – Health Service Journal
The British Medical Association GP committee is advising GPs on how to raise formal concerns with trusts and commissioning groups when hospitals fail to comply with new requirements to help reduce workload, HSJ has been told.

Understanding and preventing drug-related deaths: the report of a national expert working group to investigate drug-related deaths in England –  Public Health England (PHE)
This report makes recommendations towards addressing the rising number of people dying from drug misuse in England and highlights a number of principles for action by local authorities, drug treatment providers and partner organisations. The national expert working group advocate a whole-system approach to substance abuse treatment and a personalised approach which is tailored to patient needs.

New video on end-of-life care training – NHS Employers
Find out how Salford Royal Hospital and Broughton House Care Home provides consistent end-of-life care by employing a joined-up approach to training and education.

NHS Digital urges staff to take responsibility for security – Health Service Journal
NHS Digital has called on NHS staff to take more responsibility for “cyber hygiene” and launched a new set of training and reporting services to improve security.

New NHS performance measures to be implemented next year – NHE
NHS England is to introduce new measures on the performance of a whole healthcare system that will require a “change in mindset” from next year. Speaking at the NHS Expo conference, Professor Jonathan Benger, national clinical director of urgent and emergency care at NHS England, unveiled a new set of standards the NHS has…

National Information Board annual report: 2016
The National Information Board (NIB) has published its first annual report on the progress made against the Personalised Health and Care 2020 framework.  The report provides detail on the work of NIB workstreams and how the roadmaps published last year have evolved into a portfolio of 33 individual information and technology programmes that are now being delivered. In addition to reporting on progress the report also looks at three important independent reviews commissioned by the Secretary of State for Health that will inform the next stage of implementation.

Nurses must have ‘day in day out’ involvement in STPs – NHE
A central leadership role for nurses is crucial for the success of sustainability and transformation plans (STPs), the chief nursing officer has said. Speaking at the NHS Expo conference, Professor Jane Cummings said: “There is no point having STPs or vanguards that provide a few GPs or a few managers or a few commissioners. It has…

Funding available for nursing projects to improve men’s health
The Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) has announced a new project funding opportunity for nurses working in the community and primary care. The new funding stream starts in 2017 and is specifically for projects that help improve men’s health. The deadline for completed applications is 24 November 2016 projects will commence in March 2017 and last for 12 months. Funding of up to £5000 is available for up to ten projects, along with a year-long programme of professional support from the QNI.

NICE shared Learning
NICE has added the following items to its local practice collection:

• Insights from the NHS: adoption of UroLift for treating lower urinary tract symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia at St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospital NHS Trust
• Healthier food and drink in a hospital setting
• A structured exercise programme to increase pain-free walking and improve quality of life by integrating peripheral arterial disease patients into an established cardiac rehabilitation programme

National Hip Fracture Database annual report 2016
The Royal College of Physicians has published National Hip Fracture Database annual report 2016. It details the care provided to the 65,000 patients aged 60 and over who sustained a hip fracture during 2015, as well as their outcomes and patient casemix.  Patient care is audited against standards defined by NICE, and hospital performance in ward management, surgery and patient outcome is listed in the summary tables.

National Oesophago-Gastric Cancer Audit 2016
The Healthcare Quality Improvement partnership (HQIP) has published National Oesophago-Gastric Cancer Audit 2016. This report aims to give an overall picture of the care provided to patients with oesophago-gastric cancer or oesophageal HGD by NHS services. It provides information on the: management of patients with HGD of the oesophagus; routes to diagnosis for OG cancer patients, and their staging investigations; treatment planning for OG cancer patients; patterns of curative surgery, admissions to intensive care, and short-term outcomes; use of radiotherapy in palliative treatment; and longer term survival after diagnosis with oesophago-gastric cancer.

Statistics

• Care Information Choices, England – September, 2016
• NHS Safety Thermometer Report – England August 2015 – August 2016
• Provisional Monthly Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) in England – April 2015 to March 2016 – September 2016
• Provisional Monthly Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) in England – April 2016