This Update contains brief details of recent Government publications, legislation, cases and other developments relevant to those involved in health and social care work, which have been published in the last month.
Monitor has issued its latest guidance “Quality Governance:
How does a board know that its organisation is working effectively to improve patient care?”
The Guidance is addressed to boards of NHS provider organisations.
However, it has application across a range of functions, including senior management, internal and clinical audit, and clinical and nursing services.
The National Health Service (Performers Lists) Regulations 2004 were revoked with effect from 1 April 2013. The applicable regulations for England from that date are set out in the National Health Service (Performers Lists) (England) Regulations 2013.
In line with the regulatory changes, NHS England has published guidance in relation to its new policy and procedures relating to the identification, management and support of underperforming performers. This document summarises some of the key elements of that guidance.
This Update contains brief details of recent Government publications, legislation, cases and other developments relevant to those involved in health and social care work, which have been published in the last month.
The Government has issued its initial response to the Francis Report of the Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry. It sets out a five point plan intended to herald an end to failure and a call for excellence. This article gives a summary of what the plan will cover.
On 27 March 2012, the Health and Social Care Bill received Royal Assent and became the Health and Social Care Act 2012. The provisions are being brought into force by commencement orders and the reforms mean that all Foundation Trusts (“FTs”) and Aspirant Trusts will need to revisit their Constitutions and to begin making preparations to revise these to ensure that they are consistent with the Act. We appreciate that you’ve already had to make amendments, but such changes won’t be enough for this year, you will need to do substantially more.
Some of you may remember Total Place, a project that originated in local government but caught the imagination of many in public services. It added up the total cost of supporting the most vulnerable groups in any one area and the outcomes were in many cases quite staggering. Quite simply we give poor value to taxpayers by spending their money on the "stock" - the effect of chaotic lives, troubled families, poor health, inadequate housing - and should spend it on the "flow", intervening early in the causes, be it high reoffending rates, excessive numbers of children in care, or the elderly in and out of hospitals with long term conditions much of which could have been prevented or better managed in a community/domiciliary setting.
This article looks at how you, as health commissioners, can implement some of those changes. It is not theoretical – it is happening already in a range of public services, just much slower in health for fairly obvious reasons arising from the structural changes.
Of the 290 recommendations in the Francis Report into the Mid-Staffs inquiry, many would have an impact on the role of PCTs. With their abolition now looming, this begs the question of what CCGs should do in response to the Inquiry Report as they take on the commissioning mantle.
From 1 April 2013, Clinical Commissioning Groups and the NHS Commissioning Board must comply with new NHS (Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition) (No.2) Regulations 2013 that cover not only the award of new contracts but also the setting up of qualified provider lists and frameworks.
These new regulations have quickly followed the initial regulations after widespread concerns on their potential implications as originally drafted. This article sets out what the new regulations say and what they will mean for commissioners, and highlights some of the areas which still lack clarity and where further guidance may be needed.
This Update contains brief details of recent Government publications, legislation, cases and other developments relevant to those involved in health and social care work, which have been published in the last month.