Our Fabulous NHS – Academy of Fabulous Stuff
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• WUTH Trust has now made it even easier for patients and visitors to speak to a senior member of nursing staff by launching a telephone service As one of the biggest and busiest hospitals in the area, it is really important to Wirral University Teaching Hospital that the hundreds of thousands of direct patient contacts it has each year receive a positive experience. On the rare occasions a worry or concern is flagged, the Trust has now made it even easier […]
• New Persistent Physical Symptoms Service Website A new website, the first in the UK, to support people in West, North and East Cumbria managing persistent pain, Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia, Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Medically Unexplained Symptoms went live on 12th July. The Persistent Physical Symptoms Service at Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust have developed the online support for patients and […]

HSJ Roundup (contact the Library for further details)

• ‘Political’ NHS targets may damage care quality, warns national report 
  A senior clinician leading a national drive against unwarranted variation in the NHS says cancer targets and surgeon mortality rates are “politically derived measures” that may reduce care quality.
• Leading surgeons call for review of clinical autonomy 
  The clinical autonomy enjoyed by NHS surgeons should be reviewed and clinicians monitored more closely to ensure consistent care, a national report recommends.
• Pioneering acute and community trust hails ‘successful’ first year of home care 
  An acute and community trust that was the first in the NHS to enter the home care market says the first year of its new service has exceeded its expectations.
• Vanguards told national funding depends on denting A&E admissions
  NHS England has told national vanguard sites that their emergency admissions growth will need to be significantly lower than elsewhere to secure access to their national transformation funding in the second half of 2017-18.
• City CCGs move closer to merger 
  Three clinical commissioning groups will consult with their members over a merger to create one of the country’s biggest CCGs, it has emerged today.
• CQC praises leadership improvement at merger trust 
  A large acute trust with a history of governance problems has been rated good for being well led in its latest inspection report.
• Trust bailouts rise to £2.7bn as more rely on loans 
  NHS trusts were forced to draw down £2.7bn of emergency cash bailouts from the government last year – with two-thirds of hospital providers now relying on government loans to maintain payments to staff and suppliers.
• NMC to be scrutinised over handling of care scandal witnesses 
  A regulator’s handling of witnesses and freedom of information requests are being put under the spotlight in an inquiry ordered by the health secretary.
• Seven days services study to review thousands of patient notes 
  Four thousand patients’ notes will be reviewed by experts as part of a project to study the quality of seven day services in the NHS.

New BNF / BNFC app now available
This free-to-download app replaces the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (Nice) BNF app. But there will be a grace period of a “few months” when the Nice version will continue to receive updates, to allow users to familiarise themselves with its replacement.

The BNF & BNFC App has been developed for NHS UK healthcare professionals by the publishers of the BNF. Its fast, intuitive searching and easy-to-use design gives you access to practical, evidence-based medicines information whenever – and wherever – you need it. (contact the Library for further details)

Demand and capacity e-learning
Health Education England e-Learning for Healthcare has launched an e-learning programme to support NHS staff to better understand demand and plan capacity so that patients do not have an unnecessary wait for treatment. This introductory course provides a knowledge base around these topics and is free to access for NHS staff. Login in with your NHS OpenAthens Account (contact the Library for further details)

NICE shared learning

• Joint pain advisor approach for knee and hip pain – a physiotherapy-led service a to provide easier access to better care for people with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee and hip
• Adhering to the NICE guidance for initiating and reviewing antipsychotic medications in people with a learning disability for the prevention and intervention of challenging behaviours – development of a medication clinic focused on adherence to the NICE NG11 guideline