Daily publication of Covid-19 admissions and bed occupancy data – NHS England
This file contains Covid data on measures of hospital admissions and the number of beds occupied by Covid patients and the number of MV beds (beds capable of supporting mechanical ventilation) occupied by Covid patients. [Due to technical problems we were unable to undertake the usual validation checks on the data submitted on 23 February. Please bear this in mind when interpreting bed figures for that day, or admissions figures for 21/22 February.]

Daily Admissions and Beds 1 March 2021 (XLSX, 177KB)

Weekly publication of Covid-19 admissions and bed occupancy data – NHS England
This file contains Covid data on measures of:-

• hospital admissions,
• number of beds occupied by Covid patients
• number of MV beds (capable of supporting mechanical ventilation) occupied by Covid patients
• number of Adult G&A beds; occupied by Covid patients; occupied by non-Covid patients, unoccupied hospital admissions,
• number of all beds occupied by Covid patients
• number of MV beds occupied by Covid patients

[Due to technical problems we were unable to undertake the usual validation checks on the data submitted on 23 February. Please bear this in mind when interpreting bed figures for that day, or admissions figures for 21/22 February.]

Weekly Admissions and Beds 25 February 2021 (XLSX, 2.9MB)

A consultancy habit? The use of external management advice in the NHS – University of Bristol
The use of paid management consultants in the NHS has become habitual despite having a negative impact on efficiency. This inflation of demand for consulting services occurred even when they failed to improve performance. In fact, policy initiatives, such as outsourcing and private financing of hospital buildings had worse outcomes for efficiency when carried out with the help of consultants’ advice.

Covid-19 insight – Care Quality Commission (CQC)
This briefing looks at the evidence so far about how health and care services have been affected by the pandemic during this winter, and discuss what action CQC is taking to provide constructive support.

The NHS external audit market: current issues and possible solutions – Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA)
The HFMA is increasingly hearing from its members that they are finding it difficult to appoint an external auditor, with little or no interest being shown in invitations to tender for external audit services. This briefing considers: the background to the current audit arrangements in the NHS; recent events impacting the wider audit market, up to and including the Redmond review; current issues for NHS bodies and their auditors based on the outcome of a survey of finance directors and discussions with auditors and other interested parties.

Rapid evaluation of health and care services – planning a sustainable solution for the post-Covid reset – The AHSN Network
In the first wave of Covid-19, health and care services innovated and adapted at unprecedented speed to provide care and protect staff and patients during a rapidly developing global pandemic. This paper explores the barriers and facilitators to performing timely, rigorous and effective evaluations of these changes.

Code of practice for the international recruitment of health and social care personnel in England – Department of Health and Social Care
This code of practice aims to promote high standards of ethical practice in the international recruitment and employment of health and social care personnel. It also sets out the UK’s approach to supporting health and social care systems and workforce, alongside safeguards on active recruitment from countries with the most pressing universal health coverage related health and social care workforce needs. It is aimed at all health or social care organisations or recruitment agencies undertaking international recruitment.

A good practice guide to support implementation of trauma-informed care in the perinatal period – Centre for Early Child Development
This guide aims to help staff and services understand the impact of psychological trauma on women in the perinatal period and respond in a sensitive and compassionate way. It aims to support staff to ensure they ‘do no harm’ through care delivery that, without thought or intention, could retraumatise individuals.

Looking ahead 2021: reset, partnerships, recovery – Wilmington Healthcare
This report investigates the emerging trends and policy that will come to fruition in 2021 and that will transform the NHS landscape. Integration, collaboration, digital transformation, out of-hospital care and homecare are now widely-used concepts. The report explores how they will transform systems in 2021 and what these developments mean for industry. Free registration is required to download the report.

New education standard for nursing students announced – NHS Employers 
A new education standard announced by the NMC provides flexibility to student learning during the pandemic.

New administrative services national job profile – NHS Employers
The NHS Staff Council Job Evaluation Group (JEG) has published a new band 7 Business Operations Manager national job profile.

Recent NICE Guidance: