No hospital is an island: new models of acute collaboration in the NHS – Nigel Edwards and Jacob West, NHS England
Encouraged in recent years through the NHS Five Year Forward View, the Dalton and Carter reviews and now Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs), hospitals are looking for creative solutions to clinical and financial challenges that they can’t solve on their own. We recently brought together the 13 acute care collaboration vanguards, who are exploring this […]

Maternity services – The King’s Fund
The King’s Fund has published User feedback in maternity services.  This report looks at what maternity services are doing locally to collect, analyse and act on user feedback. It describes the challenges of adopting the different approaches and highlights the features of organisations that are successful in user feedback activities.

Seven day services – NHS England blogs
Read NHS England blogposts on seven day services here.

Consultation on the clinical commissioning policy proposition: commissioning medicines in children –  NHS England
NHS England has launched a public consultation on a clinical commissioning policy proposition for commissioning medicines in children. There has already been extensive engagement on this national policy, it has been developed with the support and input of lead clinicans and patient and public representatives. This approach has helped ensure that the views of key stakeholders have informed and influenced the development of this policy to date. NHS England now wish to test them further with wider groups of stakeholders. The closing date for comments is 4 November 2016.

Personal safety when working alone: guidance for members working in health and social care –  Royal College of Nursing (RCN)
This guide has been developed for RCN members who work alone. It also contains a checklist for RCN safety representatives who work on negotiating improvements to workplace safety for members and nurse managers who manage lone working staff.

Foundation groups could be first step to full merger – NHS Improvement
NHS Improvement has published more detailed guidance on how the new foundation groups could be set up, but has said they could be a first step to a merger between trusts. In August, the first four trusts accredited to lead hospital chains were named as Guy’s and St Thomas’, Northumbria Healthcare, Royal Free London and Salford…

BMA urges trust CEOs to pause junior doctor contract as roll-out kicks off – NHE
The BMA has written to all NHS trust chief executives in a last-ditch effort to pause the introduction of the new junior doctor contract, set to be rolled out from today for obstetrics and gynaecology ST3 doctors. The union’s junior doctor committee chair, Dr Ellen McCourt, said today marks a “watershed moment” for the…

STPs could be blocked if GPs oppose them, says health minister – GP Online
Opposition from GPs could force a rethink on sustainability and transformation plans (STPs), health minister David Mowat has told the RCGP conference.

HSJ roundup: (contact the library for further details on any of these HSJ articles)

Final interviews for top regulator job next month
The search to replace Dame Julie Mellor as the parliamentary and health service ombudsman is underway, with job adverts posted online and in the national press.

IT crash trust had tech problems in pathology service since March
IT problems at Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust’s blood sciences and pathology department have occurred for months after the trust installed new systems in March, HSJ has learned.

A&E closures not ruled out in troubled STP patch
The new health system for Hereford and Worcestershire has requested national support to help consolidate back office services across all of its NHS organisations and local councils.

‘Outstanding’ CCG to make smokers and obese patients wait six months for surgery
Obese patients and smokers will have to try to lose weight or quit smoking for six months before being considered for operations under a Yorkshire CCG’s plans to save £8m.

STP proposals for troubled health economy revealed
The new health system for Hereford and Worcestershire has requested national support to help consolidate back office services across all of its NHS organisations and local councils.

Primary care fund could be reduced by £300m, say commissioners
Commissioners have raised concerns that the £900m estates and technology transformation fund for primary care may be reduced by almost £300m.

Commissioners plan children’s surgery shake-up
Two district hospitals would stop providing hyper-acute stroke care and reduce access to paediatric surgery under a proposed shake up of services in Yorkshire.

Trusts establish ‘first of its kind’ regional pathology venture
Two trusts have formed an innovative digital pathology partnership designed to secure sustainable, high quality services for the whole of east and south Yorkshire.

Success regime proposes major overhaul of region’s healthcare
One of the success regimes to turnaround troubled health economies has proposed a major overhaul in the way healthcare is delivered across its patch.

Demoralising overseas staff puts patient safety at risk, warns NHSI chair
Patient safety could be put at risk if overseas staff are left feeling “demoralised and diminished” as ministers negotiate the UK’s exit from the EU, NHS Improvement chair Ed Smith has warned.