Review of radiology reporting
The Care Quality Commission has published Radiology review: a national review of radiology reporting within the NHS in England.  The report found significant variation in the timescales for reporting on radiology examinations and a wide range of arrangements in place to monitor and manage backlogs of unreported images at NHS hospital trusts across the country.  The CQC is calling for the development of national standards for reporting turnaround times, and improved guidance to support trusts in monitoring their own performance in order to protect patients from the potential risk of delayed or missed diagnoses.

Continuity of care in general practice
The Health Foundation is launching a new funding programme to help improve patient care and outcomes by exploring how to increase continuity of care within general practice.  They are offering 3-4 large scale GP practices and federations grants of up to £250,000 over 12-24 months to carry out targeted quality improvement work to increase continuity in their practices.

Organ donation campaign
The Department of Health and Social Care has announced a new campaign in England to address the need for black, Asian and minority ethnic organ donors.  The new campaign aims to increase organ donation rates within black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities by raising awareness and breaking down barriers to donation. It will be delivered by NHS Blood and Transplant with support from the National BAME Transplant Alliance (NBTA).

NIHR Signals

• Lamotrigine is not effective for the treatment of borderline personality disorder
• Testing oxygen levels of newborn babies helps find serious heart defects
• Increasing inhaled steroids for short periods reduces asthma exacerbations
• Gallbladder surgery through a single-incision is more risky than a multiple incision technique
• Self-monitoring improves control of high blood pressure compared with GP monitoring alone
• One week of steroids may be as effective as two weeks in managing severe COPD
• Alternative sedative reduces the risk of acute kidney injury following cardiac surgery
• Nurse staffing levels linked to reports of missed care in adult wards

HPV vaccination programme
The Department of Health and Social Care has published Statement on HPV vaccination – Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.  This statement sets out the conclusions on extending the human papillomavirus infection (HPV) vaccination programme to adolescent boys in the UK.

Better Care Fund
NHS England has published The Integration and Better Care Fund operating guidance for 2017-19.  This document sets out the refreshed operating guidance for approved Better Care Fund (BCF) plans and is for local partners that agree and administer BCF 2017-19 plans.

NHS standard sub-contract: provision of clinical services
NHS England has published NHS standards sub-contract for the provision of clinical services 2017/18 and 2018/19 (full length and shorter-from versions: guidance.  This guidance accompanies the NHS Standard Sub-Contract for the Provision of Clinical Services 2017/18 and 2018/19 (full length and shorter-form versions) (May edition).  Template sub-contracts are also available (links are part way down the page under NHS Standard Sub-contract section). 

Statistics

• NRLS patient safety incident reports – July 2017 to June 2018
• Learning Disability Services Monthly Statistics Provisional Statistics (AT: June 2018, MHSDS: April 2018 Final)
• Summary Hospital-level Mortality Indicator (SHMI) Deaths associated with hospitalisation, England – January 2017 – December 2017