Collaborative procurement: five minutes with . . . Des Breen – BMJ
The NHS medical director discusses how closer collaboration between seven hospitals helped them save millions on products they use everyday.

“This work all started in the south Yorkshire, mid Yorkshire, and north Derbyshire vanguard programme, which was promoting new models of care. A few years ago, the hospitals in the region got together to discuss what they could do collaboratively, and the procurement programme was one of those things.”

Delayed Transfers of Care Data 2017-18 – NHS England
The Monthly Situation Report collects data on the total delayed days during the month for all patients delayed throughout the month.  Prior to April 2017, it also collected data on the number of patients delayed on the last Thursday of the month.

Supporting doctors to use clinical audit – HQIP
The Royal College of Physicians and the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership have published Unlocking the potential: supporting doctors to use clinical audit. This report aims to increase the engagement of doctors in quality improvement activity through greater accessibility to the outputs of national clinical audit. It is intended to bridge the current disconnect between identifying what needs to be improved and the capability to actually improve in practice.

Less waste, more health: A health professional’s guide to reducing waste –  Royal College of Physicians
This report explains how health professionals can positively influence societal health and wellbeing by making changes to the procurement and disposal of medical supplies. It features 12 recommendations to gain financial savings and reduce the impact of the NHS on the environment

Capacity alert system for GPs
NHS England has announced the roll-out of the Capacity Alert system across the NHS in England following successful trials in two areas of the country.  The e-traffic light system is making it easier for GPs to understand the waiting times at hospitals for their patients and thereby offer patients potentially quicker routes to treatment.  In trials, the system reduced referrals to overbooked hospitals by nearly 40%.

WannaCry cyber attack
The National Audit Office has published Investigation: WannaCry cyber attack and the NHS.  The report investigates the NHS response to the cyber attack and the impact on health services.  The investigation focused on the ransomware attack’s impact on the NHS and its patients; why some parts of the NHS were affected; and how the Department and NHS national bodies responded to the attack.

NHS funding debate is opportunity for ‘courage and leadership’, says NHS Confederation  
Responding to a letter by the Secretary of State for Health to Conservative MPs about NHS funding ideas and further signs of cross-party backbench pressure for action, Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents organisations across the healthcare system, said it was an opportunity for ‘courage and leadership’.

Statistics

• Seven-day services England – October 2016 – September 2017
• NHS workforce statistics – January 2018, provisional statistics
• NHS sickness absence rates – December 2017