HSJ Roundup

• Three trusts responsible for half of trauma mortality outliers 
  Three trusts have significantly more deaths than expected in trauma cases, according to new data.
• Trust chief executive stands down ahead of CQC report 
  The chief executive of England’s only fully integrated hospital, mental health, community services and ambulance provider has stepped down ahead of the publication of its inspection report.
• Biggest ever NHS tender launched as £6bn contract put on market
  Manchester health leaders have kicked off the search for providers of “out of hospital” health and care services across the city under a contract worth nearly £6bn – the largest ever NHS services tender.
• Trust audit concerns revealed 
  Documents made public after Freedom of Information Act requests have revealed concerns about the way some trusts are audited. Last week, NHS Improvement published summaries of reviews it had ordered of a random sampling of the audits commissioned by trusts in 2015-16 and 2014-15.
• Hurley Group practice put in special measures 
  A GP practice run by the high profile Hurley Group has been placed in special measures by the Care Quality Commission.
• Leak reveals worst case scenario for nursing after Brexit  
  After Brexit the NHS could be hit by a shortage of more than 40,000 nurses by 2026, according to modelling by the Department of Health leaked to HSJ.
• Trusts and commissioners take significant steps towards ACO  
  NHS organisations across a troubled health economy have agreed the first steps to setting up an accountable care organisation for their sustainability transformation partnership footprint.

Winter insight: The ambulance service – The Nuffield Trust
The ambulance service has come to be a totemic symbol of the NHS in England, free at the point of use and available to all. It represents the fundamental duty of care at the heart of the health service and is an expression of the dedication of NHS staff. In our final winter briefing, we look at these growing pressures on a critical NHS service.

Testing times: restrictions accessing test strips and meters for people with diabetes – Diabetes UK
This report highlights the difficulties that patients have been experiencing in accessing blood sugar monitoring equipment. The survey of patients found that a quarter of respondents had experienced restrictions and that over half of those who had experienced restrictions have type 1 diabetes.

BBC Health News

• GP practices close in record numbers – BBC
  Data suggests 57 practices in England closed in 2016, affecting some 265,000 patients.
• Fears of locum shortage amid IR35 tax row  – BBC
  A Kent hospital prepares for a staffing crisis as locums face a drop in pay after tax changes.
• Sharp rise in A&Es turning away ambulances – BBC
  Paramedics warn the issue is causing delays getting to the most seriously ill and injured patients.
• Hospital parking ‘unreasonably stressful’, says RAC – BBC
  The RAC says too many hospitals force patients to carry around “pocketfuls of change” to pay.

Remote health management: reducing bed blocking in the NHS – Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE)
This report highlights the potential for remote monitoring technology to ease delayed discharges in the NHS and estimates that the widespread implementation of digital health could have already saved the NHS over £1 billion over the last five years. The report calls for the Department of Health to create a standardised remote health management network by 2020 which would enable acute and social care providers to have access to patient data and remote monitoring.

NMC make changes to OSCE test sittings – NHS Employers 
The NMC has changed the number of OSCE test attempts an overseas trained (non-EU/EEA) nurse or midwife can take as part of their application for registration.

Planned care benchmarking – The Benchmarking Network
The Benchmarking Network has published the results of the Planned Care 2016 project.  (Please note, the desktop toolkit and national report are only available to BENCHMARKING NETWORK MEMBERS).  The Planned Care for Commissioners project aimed to provide a strategic overview of the investment in the healthcare system on planned care, and develop benchmarking analytics to fill the gap in the data already available to commissioners. The project covered 51 commissioning organisations.

60 seconds with. NHSI’s Ben Dyson – NHE | NEWS
We talk to Ben Dyson, executive director of strategy at NHS Improvement (NHSI). What are NHSI’s main policy objectives for the next 12 months? “Our core objectives remain the same: to support NHS providers improve their quality of care, financial performance and performance against NHS Constitution standards.”

Maternity choice and personalisation pioneers: frequently asked questions – NHS England
This updated set of FAQs provides guidance and information on the pioneers who are testing ways of improving choice and personalisation for women accessing maternity services.

Patient and public participation in commissioning health and care: statutory guidance for CCGs and NHS England – NHS England
This guidance aims to supports staff to involve patients and the public in their work in a meaningful way to improve services, including giving clear advice on the legal duty to involve. The guidance is accompanied by an equality and health inequalities analysis and associated resources.

NICE guidance

• IPG578  Minimally invasive sacroiliac joint fusion surgery for chronic sacroiliac pain
• CG68 Sexually transmitted infections: condom distribution schemes
• CG61 Irritable bowel syndrome in adults: diagnosis and management
• ES12  Non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis: inhaled tobramycin

Statistics

• MSSA bacteraemia counts by CCG – February 2016 to February 2017
• E. coli bacteraemia counts by CCG and month – February 2016 to February 2017
• C difficile infection counts by CCG and month – February 2016 to February 2017
• Quarterly mortality reports – data up to Dec 2016
• Health and Care of People with Learning Disabilities – 2015 to 2016
• Measuring national well-being: life in the UK, April 2017

Bulletins

• Provider bulletin – 5 April 2017
• NICE News – March 2017
• Update for Primary Care  – March 2017
• New Medicines Newsletter – March 2017