Tag: Health and Social Care

Health and Social Care in England

Tackling the myths

Source: The King’s Fund

The health and care system is under intense pressure, with rising waiting times, persistent workforce shortages and patients struggling to access the care they need. As a result, patient and public satisfaction with services has dropped significantly, prompting debate and discussion about the future of health and care services. In the context of what can feel like a heated political and media discussion, the King’s Fund have taken five myths that sometimes feature in this debate and debunked them.

Read the article here.

Data saves lives

Reshaping health and social care with data

Source: The King’s Fund

This strategy sets out the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care’s vision for how data will be used to improve the health and care of the population in a safe, trusted and transparent way. It provides an overarching narrative and action plan to address the current cultural, behavioural and structural barriers in the system, with the ultimate goal of having a health and care system that is underpinned by high-quality and readily available data. The strategy also marks the next steps of the discussion about how we can best utilise data for the benefit of patients, service users, and the health and care system.

Health and Social Care

Integrated care

In September 2021, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England (NHSE) and the Local Government Association (LGA) published ‘ICP engagement document: integrated care system (ICS) implementation’. Following that publication, the DHSC, NHSE and LGA conducted an engagement exercise with those who have an interest in the formation of integrated care partnerships. This paper sets out the key findings from the engagement process. It also proposes next steps and outlines how DHSC, NHSE and the LGA intend to support and guide the development of these new partnership arrangements going forward.

Integrated care communications toolkit
This toolkit was developed to help communicate the changes taking place in the health and care system. Resources have been produced to help with explaining integrated systems to the public, elected members and officers of councils, and non-executive directors. The toolkit also includes a jargon buster and some FAQs

Digital Technology

How is this shaping health and social care?

Source: The King’s Fund

This report, commissioned by the Health Foundation, provides a summary of evidence for how emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, smartphones, wearable devices and the internet of things are being used within care settings around the world.

The authors analyse the available evidence around the use of these technologies to support leaders in health and care to engage in long-term thinking about the role of digital technology. The report looks back at recent developments in digital technology in the health and care system before the Covid-19 pandemic, supplemented by the Fund’s evidence-gathering on how digital technologies have been used during the pandemic, in England in particular. It also considers a set of potential futures to distil factors driving change and what this means for leaders now. 

The Department of Health and Social Care’s legislative proposals for a Health and Care Bill

Integration and innovation: working together to improve health and social care for all

This White Paper sets out legislative proposals for a Health and Care Bill. The proposals are designed to support the health and care system to work together to provide high-quality health and care, so people can live longer, healthier, active and more independent lives.

Patient Experience Network

National Awards 2020

Source: KnowledgeShare

The PEN National Awards are the first patient experience awards in the UK, celebrating the delivery of outstanding patient experience by those involved in the health and social care industry.

Following a unique format, all shortlisted entrants typically* have the opportunity to take part in the exhibition at our Awards event, which celebrates all the finalists’ work, creating a fantastic atmosphere, with the category winners also presenting. Guest speakers join us, sharing their inspiration and experience. A buffet lunch allows attendees to network, gather ideas and take in current and future trends that will go on to transform the experience of care in the UK at all levels.

This year will be a ‘virtual ceremony’- held in April 2021. The deadline for entries is the 29th January 2021. To find out more about how to enter click here.

Awards

Department of health and social care

Report of the independent review of NHS hospital food

This review, advised by chef and restaurateur Prue Leith, highlights the main challenges for NHS catering and makes recommendations on how NHS trusts can prioritise food safety and provide more nutritious meals to both staff and patients. The review covers: workforce; nutrition and hydration; food safety; facilities; technology; sustainability; enforcing standards; and the way forward to improving hospital food for patients, staff and visitors.

To find out more click here.

Health and Social Care Select Committee

Delivering core NHS services during the pandemic and beyond

This report aims to catalogue the impact and unprecedented challenge caused by Covid-19 to the provision of essential services. It calls for urgent action to assess and tackle a backlog of appointments and an unknown patient demand for all health services, specifically across cancer treatments, mental health services, dentistry services, GP services and elective surgery. It also looks at the case made for routine testing of all NHS staff.

For more information click here.

BMJ Open

Leadership development in complex health systems: a qualitative study

Objective leadership is associated with organisational performance in healthcare, including quality, safety and clinical outcomes for patients. Leadership development programmes have proliferated in recent years. Nevertheless very few have examined participant experiences in depth in order to understand which programmatic aspects they regard as most valuable relative to leadership in increasingly complex systems, or whether and how learnings may sustain over time. This article explores experiences of participants in an interdisciplinary leadership development programme using qualitative methods over an extended look-back period.

Read more here