Knowledge @lert for Wednesday 6th November

November 6, 2019 CCG Daily News

NHS online training to reduce time spent in hospital.
The ActNow e-learning tool is collaboration between NHS England and Health Education England will help service and care staff to reduce hospital delays for patients. Around 350,000 patients spend over three weeks in acute hospitals.

Diabetes Awareness Month
To mark Diabetes Awareness Month, NHS England and NHS Improvement have published the first in a series of blogs in which a patient explains how access to a flash glucose monitor has been life-changing in managing her condition. Thanks to the NHS Long Term Plan, this innovative technology is now available to 30,000 patients on the NHS.

Transforming Imaging Services – a National Strategy
NHS Improvement has published Transforming imaging services in England — a national strategy for imaging networks

This strategy sets out a proposal for implementing collaborative imaging networks on a national basis across England, delivering better quality care, better value services for patients and providing NHS staff opportunities to develop their career and increase their productivity.

Since 2018, NHS Improvements have been working with NHS clinical leads to build a national strategy for imaging networks. The data shows high vacancy rates and ageing imaging equipment, which coupled with rising demand, is putting extreme pressure on delivering timely imaging services and providing high-quality patient care. The idea is that by bringing together clinical expertise unwarranted variation can be reduced, provide better quality care, better value services for patients and give NHS staff the opportunity to develop their careers.

Maternity and Neonatal Safety Improvement Programme
NHS Improvement has provided an update on the The Maternity and Neonatal Safety Improvement Programme (MatNeoSIP), which was renamed following the launch of the NHS Patient Safety Strategy in July 2019.

The programme aims to:

improve the safety and outcomes of maternal and neonatal care by reducing unwarranted variation and provide a high quality healthcare experience for all women, babies and families across maternity and neonatal care settings in England
contribute to the national ambition, set out in Better Births of reducing the rates of maternal and neonatal deaths, stillbirths, and brain injuries that occur during or soon after birth by 50% by 2025

Introduction of Digital Prescriptions
The Department of Health and Social Care has announced £26 million to help hospitals introduce digital prescriptions. 25 trusts will receive a share of the funding to replace outdated paper systems, improving patient safety and reducing errors.

The digital prescription technology will see hospitals move away from handwritten prescriptions. The upgrade to more efficient systems will save the NHS time and benefit patients by:

reducing medication errors by up to 30% compared with the old paper systems
ensuring fast access to potentially lifesaving information on prescribed medicines
building up a complete, single electronic record to reduce duplication of information-gathering

Dementia: comorbidities in patients
Public Health England has published Dementia: comorbidities in patients – data briefing. This briefing document analyses data recorded in a sample of primary care records of patients with dementia, in relation to their other health conditions (comorbidities). This briefing is for health commissioners, and providers of primary care and community services that support patients with dementia. The findings can inform a local assessment of the needs of patients with dementia, and the provision of health and care services.

Managing medicines supply and shortages
NHS England and NHS Improvement have published A guide to managing medicines supply and shortages. This guide aims to support pharmacists, clinicians and other NHS professionals with managing the supply of medicines to their patients and details the national, regional and local management and escalation processes and communication routes for medicines supply issues in order to consolidate existing practice across industry, government and the NHS.

Review of NHS Access Standards
NHS England and NHS Improvement have published Clinically-led Review of NHS Access Standards. This report sets out progress so far on how each of the proposed new standards in mental health services, cancer care, elective care and urgent and emergency care is being tested and the early learning from this testing.

With regard to the A&E proposed new standards for A&E, Healthwatch has asked nearly 2000 people what good A&E experience looks like. Six local Healthwatch are working with patients in test sites currently piloting the new A&E access standards, to understand how the proposed measures will impact people.

Cyber resilience in health and care
The Department of Health and Social Care has published Securing cyber resilience in health and care: progress update 2019. The report highlights the progress taken to build cyber resilience in health and care over the past 12 months and looks forward to 2020.

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