NHS Standard Contract  
NHS England has updated the 2017-19 NHS Standard Contract for use by commissioners for all contracts for healthcare services other than primary care.  Where commissioners are placing new contracts with providers, they must now use these updated versions of the relevant contract with immediate effect.  NHS England has updated all accompanying documentation to reflect these changes.

Guide to special measures
NHS Improvement has published Special measures for quality reasons: guidance for trusts.  This guidance explains: why trusts are placed in special measures for quality reasons; the process for entering special measures;  what will happen to trusts during special measures and how long special measures are intended to last; the roles and responsibilities of key organisations involved; when and how trusts will exit special measures; and if and how a trust can re-enter special measures.

Ambulance trust turns to private services due to ‘extreme pressure’ – National Health Executive
The East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST) has revealed it was forced to turn to private ambulance services as the number of calls it received on New Year’s Day was more than 50% above normal levels. The trust had to move to level 4 on the national Resource Escalation Action Plan (REAP) because of the rise in calls, which…

Office staff take up hospital cleaning roles to tackle ‘unparalleled’ demand – National Health Executive
Backroom staff at NHS Lanarkshire in Scotland are pitching in to help with cleaning and administrative duties in an effort to deal with enormous volumes of patients. Officials at the health board, which runs three hospitals in central Scotland and is the third largest in the country, say the current situation is unparalleled and that…

Statistics

• Dementia assessment and referral – October 2017
• Maternity services monthly statistics – August 2017
• NHS referrals for first outpatient appointments – November 2017

• Clostridium difficile infection: monthly data by CCG  – November 2016 to November 2017
• E. coli bacteraemia: monthly data by CCG – November 2016 to November 2017
• E. coli bacteraemia: monthly data by onset and CCG – November 2016 to November 2017
• MSSA bacteraemia: monthly data by CCG – November 2016 to November 2017
• MRSA bacteraemia: monthly data by CCG – November 2016 to November 2017
• Klebsiella spp. bacteraemia: monthly data by onset and CCG – November 2016 to November 2017
• P. aeruginosa bacteraemia: monthly data by onset and CCG – November 2016 to November 2017

HSJ Roundup (contact the Library for further details)

• Trust to borrow £95m to hit deficit target 
  A £539m turnover trust will need to borrow £95.5m in 2017-18 to achieve a £65m deficit, it has revealed.
• Trusts performing worst against race equality target 
  Papworth Hospital Foundation Trust was the worst trust in England for racial bias in its formal disciplinary process last financial year.
• Jobs withdrawn from former trust chief amid investigations 
  Former Wirral University Teaching Hospital chief executive David Allison has had his offer of a secondment with NHS Improvement withdrawn.
• HSIB chief rejects plan for trusts to investigate themselves 
  The chief investigator of the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch has rejected the government’s plan to allow NHS trusts to use its powers to investigate themselves.
• Cardiologist at troubled trust dismissed after sexual harassment allegation 
  A consultant cardiologist at Wirral University Hospital Foundation Trust was dismissed for gross misconduct after allegations he had sexually harassed three junior doctors, HSJ has learned.
• First baby death investigation reports released within weeks 
  The Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch’s first draft investigation reports into avoidable baby deaths and harm could be available to trusts within eight weeks, the chief investigator has said.
• Trust chief executive to retire in March 
  The Northern Devon Healthcare Trust chief executive is to retire at the end of March.