04/05/2011
Legal intelligence for professionals in health and social care
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.
If you have been forwarded this update by a colleague and would like to receive it directly, please email Claire Bentley.
Care
Publications/Guidance
Speaking up for vulnerable adults: what the
whistleblowers say. This report examines whistleblowing in the
UK care sector. It calls for proactive promotion of best practice
in whistleblowing arrangements and the support available for
whistleblowers. This includes training and guidance for managers on
how to handle concerns, employers providing feedback when
responding to concerns, a greater awareness of rights, zero
tolerance of whistleblower victimisation, and clearer guidance
about how and when to approach relevant authorities.
Making quality your business: A guide to the Right
to Provide. The Right to Provide is part of a bigger vision for
the future of public services. This guide aims to support people
who are thinking about taking up the right to provide and has been
built on the experience of healthcare staff who have been through
the right to request. It sets out a process for people working in
NHS Trusts who have the right to propose the development of a
staff-led enterprise. The DH is encouraging staff working in social
care who are thinking about the right to provide, and people
working in Foundation Trusts and Arm’s Length Bodies who are
interested in staff leadership to use this guide. It tries to
answer some of the questions they may have about setting up a
staff-led enterprise, and helps them identify the next steps they
need to take, and where to find further information.
To give staff the financial support necessary to do this, the
Health Secretary has announced that at least £10m additional funding
is being given to the Social Enterprise Investment Fund.
Guidance on the NHS Standard Contract for Care Home Services 2011/12. This document is the Guidance on the NHS Standard Contract for Care Home Services 2011/12 and should be read in conjunction with the NHS Standard Contract for Care Homes.
Ordinary residence: guidance on the identification of the ordinary residence of people in need of community care services, England. Revised guidance on how to decide where a person is ordinarily resident for the purposes of the National Assistance Act 1948 and certain other legislation. It is applicable to local authorities with social services responsibilities and sets out how to identify where responsibility lies between authorities for the funding and/or provision of care for people aged 18 and over who are assessed as needing social care services. The guidance may also be of relevance to PCTs, NHS Trusts and NHS Foundation Trusts which are exercising local authority health-related functions pursuant to Section 75 arrangements. It also sets out the changes to the ordinary residence provisions introduced by the Health and Social Care Act 2008.
Bevan Brittan Updates
Care and Compassion of the Elderly; is the NHS meeting this
challenge? In this article, Ceri
Catton reviews a recent Healthcare Ombudsman’s report which
calls for institutional changes in the NHS which was said to be
failing to provide even basic standards of care to elderly
patients. Ceri
Catton examines the reasons for this and how the NHS can
change its approach to elderly patients.
If you wish to discuss any of the items raised in this section please contact Carlton Sadler.
Children
Publications/Guidance
Fundamentals of commissioning health services for
children. This paper looks at how some PCTs have not only
reduced admissions but commissioned services which deliver better
outcomes for children and young people.
Facing the future: standards for paediatric services. This report outlines how under-investment and an increase in demand for children’s hospital services have created huge pressure across paediatric care, resulting in many NHS services operating with dangerously low levels of staff and trainee doctors left to manage wards due to a shortage in senior level consultants posts. It warns that regardless of the outcome of the current Health Bill, an extensive ‘re-design’ of children’s health care is now necessary to safe-guard positive health outcomes for children.
Strategic high impact changes: childhood obesity. The Childhood Obesity National Support Team (CONST), Strategic High Impact Changes document, captures the learning and evidence gathered from the CONST's 44 visits to local health economies across the country. It translates this learning into what the CONST believe could make the greatest impact in addressing obesity in a local area. Identifying four key areas for implementation, the document provides researched examples and references evidencing the potential impact of the suggested interventions. This document is a summary of local views on good practice. The suggested approaches are not mandatory, and reflect learnings from a snapshot in time. Where there is clear established evidence to support interventions, this has been referenced. This document is offered as a useful resource for commissioners, its use is not mandatory.
Childhood obesity in London. This report looks at the direct costs of the current cost of publically funded treatment of childhood obesity and estimates that its associated consequences in London is £7.1 million a year.
If you wish to discuss any of the items raised in this section please contact Penelope Radcliffe, Tracey Lucas or Deborah Jeremiah.
Clinical Management
Bevan Brittan Events.
If you wish to discuss any of the items raised in this section please contact Jackie Linehan.
Clinical Research
Publications/Guidance
Exploring the interdependency between public and
charitable medical research. Continuing concern about the
fiscal deficit makes it likely that government funding of health
and medical research will remain under scrutiny. This OHE
Consulting study, commissioned by Cancer Research UK, explores the
interdependence between publicly funded and charity funded medical
research. In particular, it focuses on whether and how changes in
the levels of government funding can affect private funding for
charities, medical research and the UK economy as whole.
If you wish to discuss any of the items raised in this section please contact Deborah Jeremiah.
Commissioning
Publications/Guidance
House of Commons Health Committee: Commissioning:
further issues - Fifth Report of Session 2010-11. This report
scrutinises the Government's proposed health reforms and recommends
a number of significant changes to the Health and Social Care Bill.
The committee considers that it is crucial to get the reform of NHS
commissioning right if the service is to confront the massive
financial challenge it now faces. Their report contains a set of
practical proposals to strengthen the Health and Social Care Bill
and make it better able to meet the Government's objectives. Their
proposals are designed to ensure that NHS Commissioning involves
all stakeholders – not only GPs but also nurses, hospital doctors,
and representatives of social care and local communities - as this
broadening of the base for commissioning is vital in order to
achieve the changes that are necessary to allow the NHS deliver
properly coordinated healthcare.
Fundamentals of commissioning health services for children. This paper looks at how some PCTs have not only reduced admissions but commissioned services which deliver better outcomes for children and young people.
If you require further information about any of the items raised in this section please contact David Owens.
Complaints
Publications/Guidance
New statement signed on NHS complaints. Monitor
has signed a statement along with a number of organisations on
driving improvement and learning from NHS complaints
information.
If you would like more
information about the portal please contact Julie
Chappell.
Employment/HR
Publications/Guidance
Speaking up for vulnerable adults: what the
whistleblowers say. This report examines whistleblowing in the
UK care sector. It calls for proactive promotion of best practice
in whistleblowing arrangements and the support available for
whistleblowers. This includes training and guidance for managers on
how to handle concerns, employers.
Equality act guidance. The new Equality Act 2010 started to come into force on 1 October 2010. The King's Fund has created a series of guidance documents to help explain the Act and provide practical examples on how the law has changed.
An updated version of the Guidance on matters to be taken into account in determining questions relating to the definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010 came into force on 1 May 2011. The Guidance, which replaces the 2006 version, was laid before Parliament in February 2011. The Equality and Human Rights Commission has also published two new guides to applying the 'positive action' provisions in the Equality Act 2010. These are the provisions that permit an employer, when selecting from two or more candidates of equal merit, to prefer a candidate with a protected characteristic which is under represented in the workforce. There is a 'quick start' guide and a more detailed 'step by step' guide available.
The Good Medical Practice Framework for appraisal and revalidation. This framework sets out the broad areas which should be covered in medical appraisal and on which recommendations to revalidate doctors will be based.
NHS trusts failing to tackle staff obesity. A new report published today by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and the Faculty of Occupational Medicine has revealed that only 15% of NHS trusts have a policy or plan to help combat staff obesity.
Legislation
Equality Act 2010 (Public Authorities and
Consequential and Supplementary Amendments) Order 2011 (SI
2011/1060). This Order, which came into force on 4 April 2011,
amends the Equality Act 2010 by adding additional bodies to the
list in Schedule 19 of public authorities which are subject to the
public sector equality duty under s.149 of the Act. The additional
bodies include a number of health bodies such as Foundation Trusts,
NHS Trusts, PCTs, SHAs, Monitor and the CQC. The Order also adds a
Part 4 to Schedule 19, listing cross-border Welsh authorities.
Bevan Brittan Updates
Bribery Act Guidance. Organisations which are
currently setting up, or have set up, their anti-bribery procedures
in time for the implementation of the Bribery Act in July must take
note of the final guidance on preventing bribery which has now been
published by the Ministry of Justice. This will
be of relevance to all those involved in HR and management
generally, in the private and (to a lesser extent) the public
sector, as John Moore explains.
Employment news round-up - April 2011. Lara Feghali provides a summary of employment law news this month, including information on the draft guidance for agency workers, an update on recent case law concerning discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and religion or belief, and details of increases to the National Minimum Wage.
Mothers in law. Mothers are, as we all know, special. And the law acknowledges them as such, in that it allows employers to afford ‘special treatment’ to pregnant women and mothers, without that amounting to unlawful discrimination against men. But the EAT has recently curbed the extent to which that ‘special treatment’ may be allowed; and this may have wider implications beyond the facts of this particular case. Sarah Lamont looks at the detail.
If you wish to discuss any of the items raised in this section please contact David Widdowson, Julian Hoskins or Sarah Michael.
Finance
Publications/Guidance
Letter to finance directors of foundation trusts re
accounting for Transforming Community Service transactions.
This letter outlines the accounting procedures for Transforming
Community Services in statutory financial reporting, quarterly
reporting and annual plans.
NHS Foundation Trust accounts: A guide for
non-executives and governors - April 2011 Update. This Audit
Commission publication includes additional questions for
non-executive directors and governors, describing the main changes
since the previous guides were published in 2010. It complements
two documents published in 2010, Foundation Trust Accounts: A Guide
for Non-executives and Foundation Trust Accounts: A Guide for
Governors. These documents guide the reader step by step through a
set of foundation trust annual accounts as they are prepared under
International Financial Reporting Standards.
Incorporating Multiple Criteria in HTA: Methods and processes. Decision makers need to consider multiple criteria when considering what a health care system should pay for, or how much it should pay: health gain of course, but also the quality of patients’ experience of care, impacts on social equity and wider social considerations, and the quality of the evidence base. This new OHE book discusses how that might be done via a range of multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) methods and provides examples from current practice in the UK and internationally.
Hospital inpatient waste identification tool. This tool provides a systematic method for frontline staff, financial staff and leaders to identify clinical and operational waste and subsequently prioritise and implement waste reduction initiatives that will result in cost savings for the organization.
Freedom of Information report on waste management. This report is the result of a Freedom of Information request on waste management in the NHS between 2008-2010. It reveals that the NHS could potentially save up to £5.5m a year if healthcare organisations improve the way that they dispose of waste.
National Health Service Landscape Review. The Commons Public Accounts Committee has published a report that examines the accountability and value for money risks and implications of the Health and Social Care Bill. The Committee found that that many critical issues regarding abolition of the current structure of commissioners of health services and the regional organisations that oversee them, and the creation of the NHS Commissioning Board and GP commissioning consortia, have yet to be resolved. It notes that, most importantly, the DH has not yet got a framework to deal with failure in the system, be it on the provider side or the commissioning side. It states that it is imperative that the DH puts in place clear and transparent policies for dealing with failure of commissioners or providers to ensure patients are protected and value for money is assured. High quality risk management will be crucial if the change programme is to be delivered to time and budget and to realise its intended benefits, especially during the transition stage. The report provides an overview of aspects of the reforms where Parliament requires clarification and draws out a number of risks associated with the transition to the new model that need to be managed. The Committee intends to review the progress of the reforms at regular intervals and this report signals the sorts of issues it will want to examine in future.
More for less 2009/10: are efficiency and productivity improving in the NHS? The Audit Commission has produced a number of reports, analyses and updates, as part of the ‘More for Less’ series, looking at how NHS money has been spent, whether PCTs have been successful in keeping more patients out of hospital, and whether hospitals have become more efficient.
How is the NHS performing? Quarterly monitoring report. This monitoring report is the first of a regular quarterly review, which will combine publicly available data on selected NHS performance measures with views from a panel of finance directors on the key issues their organisations are facing. The indicators covered in the report include: key performance challenges, workforce and redundancies, and waiting times.
Price benchmarking and reducing non-pay spend. This letter from Jim Easton, National Director for Improvement and Efficiency invites NHS trusts to consider joining the Product Pricing Project to find out how the prices they are paying for a sample of clinical products compares with other trusts participating in the project. In addition, NHS chief executives are also invited to join a workshop with the Department of Health to gain practical examples of how they can save money through improved procurement and input into the national procurement strategy.
Legislation
Statement of Financial Entitlements (Amendment)
Directions 2011. These amending Directions, which came into
force on 1 April 2011, are the latest in a series of changes made
to the Statement of Financial Entitlements published in April 2005.
The primary purpose of the amendment is to implement changes in the
fee levels in the GMS Statement of Financial Entitlements effective
from 1 April 2011. The fees are based on the changes set out in
Barbara Hakin's letter to SHA Chief Executives and PCT Chief
Executives of 11 March 2011.
If you require further information about any of the items raised in this section please contact David Owens.
Foundation Trusts
Publications/Guidance
NHS Foundation Trust accounts: A guide for
non-executives and governors - April 2011 Update. This Audit
Commission publication includes additional questions for
non-executive directors and governors, describing the main changes
since the previous guides were published in 2010. It complements
two documents published in 2010, Foundation Trust Accounts: A Guide
for Non-executives and Foundation Trust Accounts: A Guide for
Governors. These documents guide the reader step by step through a
set of foundation trust annual accounts as they are prepared under
International Financial Reporting Standards.
Contract dispute resolution: advice for NHS foundation trusts. This advice from Monitor summarises the dispute resolution procedure for NHS FTs.
If you require further information about any of the items raised in this section please contact Vincent Buscemi.
Governance
Publications/Guidance
The NHS Performance Framework: Implementation
guidance - April 2011. This guidance: supports the application
of the NHS Performance Framework; informs SHAs as the regional
system managers and PCTs as the local commissioners of NHS services
of when they should intervene to address poor performance; and
informs NHS organisations of the criteria against which their
performance will be assessed.
Transforming Community Services: Demonstrating and measuring achievement: Community indicators for quality improvement. This document introduces 43 indicators for quality improvement for voluntary, local use in a community setting. These carefully chosen quality indicators will assist local service improvement and help to raise the standard of care delivered to patients and communities.
If you require further information about any of the items raised in this section please contact Vincent Buscemi.
Health and Safety
Publications/Guidance
Extension of mandatory surveillance to E.coli
bloodstream infections, June 2011. The Department of Health is
introducing a mandatory requirement for all NHS acute trusts to
report E.coli bloodstream infections diagnosed after 1 June 2011.
To support organisations in making these returns, Health Protection
Agency guidance and information on data input and definitions will
be made available in the near future.
Safe management of healthcare waste. Second edition of the best practice guide to the management of healthcare waste, updating the 2006 Health Technical Memorandum (HTM) 07-01. The key changes include: an update to statutory requirements; a focus on the waste hierarchy through procurement practices; a drive to address the carbon impact related to waste; the integration of new sector guides on GPs, dental practices, and community pharmacies; an emphasis on practical advice through case study examples (in particular on offensive waste streams), and more by way of staff training material; and, a review of terminology used for healthcare, clinical and non-clinical wastes.
Mental Health
Publications/Guidance
Complaints - Written answers and statements 27
April 2011. This table shows the total number of complaints
received by mental health trusts in England in each of the last
five years.
Need 2 Know: Measuring wellbeing. This briefing
provides a basic 'need to know' introduction to measuring
well-being. It looks at various definitions of well-being,
summarises previous work on measuring wellbeing across the UK, and
sets out the potential benefits of creating authoritative
well-being indicators.
Count me in 2010. This report presents the
results of the 2010 national census of inpatients and patients on
supervised community treatment in mental health and learning
disability services in England and Wales. It calls for
organisations outside of the healthcare sector to help improve
mental health and wellbeing among black and ethnic minority
people.
Commissioning services for women and children who
experience violence or abuse: a guide for health commissioners.
This guidance is designed to support health commissioners – in
particular those commissioning primary care, mental health
services, maternity care and sexual health services – to improve
the commissioning of services for women and children who are
victims of violence or abuse. It provides suggested outcome
measures, case examples (including service specifications to
download) and advice on how to include the needs of victims of
violence in Joint Strategic Needs Assessments – with the aim of
managing the transition and developing these services in a way
which will help them to adapt to the changes to the NHS and public
health.
Mental health promotion and mental illness
prevention: the economic case. Mental ill health is the largest
single cause of disability in the UK, contributing almost 23% of
the overall burden of disease compared to about 16% each for cancer
and cardiovascular disease. The economic and social costs of mental
health problems in England are estimated at around £105 billion
each year.
Good Practice Procedure Guide: The transfer and
remission of adult prisoners under s47 and s48 of the Mental Health
Act. This guidance sets out the process for both the transfer
to secure inpatient treatment and where appropriate, remission to
prison, for Immigration Act detainees to and from inpatient
treatment under the Mental Health Act.
Environmental Design Guide: adult medium secure
services. The guidance describes overarching principles for the
design of adult medium secure inpatient services in addition to
setting out the security requirements for these services.
Children and Young People’s Emotional Wellbeing and
Mental Health National Support Team - the learning: 'What good
looks like'. This document is based on the learning from the
Team’s visits as well as the evidence of what works. It outlines
the key elements of ‘What good looks like’ in terms of improving
outcomes locally for the emotional wellbeing of all children and
young people and children and young people with a specific mental
health need.
Talking therapies: a four-year plan of action.
This briefing by the NHS Confederation summarises the main points
of 'No health without mental health' and outlines the key questions
that boards should ask themselves.
NICE
have produced new primary care tools to help implement their
anxiety guidance. These include clinical case scenarios - case
studies that can be used as a basis for discussions on how the
recommendations should be applied in practice and a guide to
resources for service users - a summary of the online resources
that are available to help service users with GAD.
Section 67 of the Mental Health Act 1983 gives
the Secretary of State for Health a discretionary power to refer
cases involving certain patients subject to the provisions of the
Act to the First-tier Tribunal. On page 4, the paragraph headed
'References by the Secretary of State for Health to the First-tier
Tribunal and on page 5, the paragraph headed 'Information required
to support the request' have been amended to show the relevant
links on the Ministry of Justice website.
National audit of dementia services - Establishment
of memory services. This is a letter from National Clinical
Director for Dementia Alistair Burns. It notifies primary care
trust medical directors of a proposed data collection exercise on
the establishment of memory services starting in May 2011.
Consultations
Self-harm (longer term management):
consultation. A clinical practice guideline on Self-harm
(longer term management) is being developed for use in the NHS in
England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Registered stakeholders for
this guideline are invited to comment on the provisional
recommendations via this website. Consultation dates: 12 April to 7
June 2011. .
Cases
A v (1) A Local Authority; (2) A Care Home Manager;
(3) S [2011] EWHC 727 (COP). The Court of Protection directed
that a report from the Court of Protection Visitor on both capacity
and best interests of an individual, who had objected to his
continued deprivation of liberty at a named nursing home for the
elderly and mentally infirm, should be produced by the Court of
Protection Visitor and funded by the Court of Protection.
If you wish to discuss any of the items raised in the above section please contact Simon Lindsay.
Obesity
Publications/Guidance
Childhood obesity in London. This report looks
at the direct costs of the current cost of publically funded
treatment of childhood obesity and estimates that its associated
consequences in London is £7.1 million a year.
NHS trusts failing to tackle staff obesity. A
new report published today by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP)
and the Faculty of Occupational Medicine has revealed that only 15%
of NHS trusts have a policy or plan to help combat staff
obesity.
Strategic high impact changes: childhood obesity. The Childhood Obesity National Support Team (CONST), Strategic High Impact Changes document, captures the learning and evidence gathered from the CONST's 44 visits to local health economies across the country. It translates this learning into what the CONST believe could make the greatest impact in addressing obesity in a local area. Identifying four key areas for implementation, the document provides researched examples and references evidencing the potential impact of the suggested interventions. This document is a summary of local views on good practice. The suggested approaches are not mandatory, and reflect learnings from a snapshot in time. Where there is clear established evidence to support interventions, this has been referenced. This document is offered as a useful resource for commissioners, its use is not mandatory.
Cases
R (Condliff) v North Staffordshire PCT [2011] EWHC
872 (Admin) (Admin Ct). The court held that a PCT's individual
funding request policy, which provided that non-clinical, social
factors could not be taken into account in determining
exceptionality, did not breach the European Convention on Human
Rights 1950 art.8 because the right to respect for private and
family life was not generally engaged in healthcare resource
allocation.
If you would like more information about the portal please contact Julie Chappell.
Primary Care
Publications/Guidance
GP Extended Hours Access Scheme Directed Enhanced
Service – 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012. Guidance for PCTs to
support them in implementing the amended Extended Hours Access
Scheme under the Primary Medical Services (Directed Enhanced
Services) (England) (Amendment) Directions 2011, which will run
from 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012.
Cost-effective prescribing: Better Care Better Value (BCBV) indicator on statins. Guidance on the use of the prescribing Better Care Better Value Indicators, especially in relation to the indicator for statins. The guidance clarifies that the indicators are not intended for use as targets. It should be read in conjunction with the guidance on the GP contract for 2011/12.
Cases
R (Condliff) v North Staffordshire PCT [2011] EWHC
872 (Admin) (Admin Ct). The court held that a PCT's individual
funding request policy, which provided that non-clinical, social
factors could not be taken into account in determining
exceptionality, did not breach the European Convention on Human
Rights 1950 art.8 because the right to respect for private and
family life was not generally engaged in healthcare resource
allocation.
If you wish to discuss any of the items raised in the above section please contact David Owens.
Prison Health
Publications/Guidance
News
Prison health to improve as result of national IT
system. Reports that healthcare staff in prisons will be better
placed to tackle the challenging health needs of prisoners as a
result of a national prison healthcare IT system now installed in
all prisons and young offender institutions across England. All
clinicians now have ready access to up to date medical information
making it less likely that the physical and mental health needs of
prisoners and young offenders go undetected. Prisoners will also
benefit from improved continuity of care as they move between
prisons, with medical records immediately and securely transferred
from one prison to another. Over 5,000 healthcare staff are using
the system at 136 English prisons and young offender institutions,
including three immigration centres where the NHS is responsible
for healthcare. The final prison to go operational with the system
was HMP Feltham at the end of last month.
If you wish to discuss any of the items raised in this section please contact Nadia Persaud.
Regulation
Cases
Rauniar v General Medical Council [2011] EWHC 782
(Admin) (Admin Ct). The court held that the GMC's Fitness to
Practise Panel had been entitled to suspend a doctor's registration
for 12 months where he had failed to comply with retraining
conditions previously attached to his registration, and he had not
demonstrated sufficient personal effort to address deficiencies in
his performance.
Karwal v General Medical Council [2011] EWHC 826
(Admin) (Admin Ct). K appealed against her conviction by the
GMC's Fitness to Practise Panel on three out of 26 allegations of
dishonesty. The Panel concluded that she had knowingly made to a
professional colleague false representations about an investment
scheme so as fraudulently to reassure him that £188,000 he had been
promised would be paid. The court held, dismissing the appeal, that
K's dishonesty, even though unconnected with the practice of
medicine, provided a clear and proper basis for a finding that her
fitness to practise was impaired, as it undermined the profession's
reputation and public confidence.
White v Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust
[2011] EWHC 825 (QB) (QBD). The court held that the GMC's
Fitness to Practise Directorate was a quasi-judicial body, so a
letter sent by a medical director to the GMC expressing concerns
about a doctor's probity and conduct was, accordingly, subject to
absolute privilege giving him immunity from suit in the doctor's
libel claim.
Consultations
Monitor consultation on community service
governance indicators and quality governance assessments in
transactions. The consultation also includes questions about
including, on a proportionate basis, the Quality Governance
Framework into Monitor’s review of transactions. The consultation
closes on 29 June 2011.
If you wish to discuss any of the items raised in this section please contact Carlton Sadler.
General
Publications/Guidance
NHS emergency planning guidance: planning for the
management of burn-injured patients in the event of a major
incident: interim strategic national guidance. This publication
gives best practice guidance to NHS organisations in planning,
preparing and responding to incidents and emergencies that give
rise to burn injuries regardless of cause, source or nature. This
includes chemical, biological and radiological incidents. The
principles apply regardless of the number of patients being treated
and covers both adults and children.
Stop smoking service delivery and monitoring guidance 2011/12. This document provides best practice guidance relevant to the provision of all publically provided stop smoking interventions and sets out fundamental quality principles for the commissioning and delivery of services which can be used to inform the development of local commissioning and provision arrangements. It also includes full details of the data requirements for local stop smoking services.
Guidance for staff responsible for care after death (last offices). This guidance is intended to aid training and development for organisational protocols for this area of care. It also aims to provide a consistent view that accommodates England’s diverse religious and multicultural beliefs.
Working together for a stronger NHS. This
document provides an overview to the proposed NHS reforms and
explains how the public can get involved in the process.
Customer insight work on maternity and early
years. This report is a synthesis of three pieces of
qualitative about the experience of expectant and new parents. The
three projects explored how parents feel about the pregnancy and
parenthood journeys and their expectations of the health
service.
Spirituality in nursing care: a pocket guide. This is a guide to enable nursing staff to address questions about the spiritual part of care. This guide hopes to define spiritual care, provide tips on preparing to give spiritual care and lists where to seek further information.
Bribery Act 2010 - guidance about procedures which relevant commercial organisations can put into place to prevent persons associated with them from bribing. The MoJ has announced that the Bribery Act 2010 will come into force on 1 July 2011. The Act includes a new offence which can be committed by commercial organisations which fail to prevent persons associated with them from bribing another person on their behalf. An organisation that can prove it has adequate procedures in place to prevent persons associated with it from bribing will have a defence to the offence. This statutory guidance explains the policy behind the new offence and aims to help commercial organisations understand what sorts of procedures they can put in place to prevent bribery. The MoJ has also published a quick start guide that sets out the key points.
Bribery Act 2010 - guidance about procedures which relevant commercial organisations can put into place to prevent persons associated with them from bribing. The MoJ has announced that the Bribery Act 2010 will come into force on 1 July 2011. The Act includes a new offence which can be committed by commercial organisations which fail to prevent persons associated with them from bribing another person on their behalf. An organisation that can prove it has adequate procedures in place to prevent persons associated with it from bribing will have a defence to the offence. This statutory guidance explains the policy behind the new offence and aims to help commercial organisations understand what sorts of procedures they can put in place to prevent bribery. The MoJ has also published a quick start guide that sets out the key points. .
Consultations
Proposals for making the NICE clinical guideline
development process more efficient. This consultation document
sets out proposed changes to the process for developing NICE
clinical guidelines. After taking into consideration comments
received from the guideline developers, stakeholders and the wider
public, and subject to approval of the NICE Board at their meeting
in September 2011, changes to the development process will be
incorporated into ‘the guidelines development methods manual’. The
manual is due to be updated and published 2012. Changes to the
process will take effect from October 2011. The consultation closes
on 19 July 2011.
Working together for a stronger NHS. The
Government has launched a "listening exercise" on NHS
modernisation, with an opportunity to "pause, listen, reflect on
and improve" its plans to reform the NHS as set out in the Health
and Social Care Bill. This document describes why the provision of
health and care needs to change and the Government's plans to
modernise the NHS. It invites reader to get involved in the
process. There will be events running in every part of the country
over the next two months which will give people a chance to get
involved – from specific events for NHS staff, to others involved
with the NHS, and those already involved in making change. More
information is on the Modernisation website.
The Government has also announced the creation of the NHS Future Forum,
consisting of a range of stakeholders chaired by Steve Field. They
will oversee the listening process and produce a report for the
Government on the key issues raised. The debate will focus upon
four key areas:
- The role of choice and competition (led by Steve Buggs from the Voluntary sector);
- Patient involvement and public accountability (led by Geoff Alltimes CE of Hammersmith and Fulham LCB);
- Professional leadership and integration (led by Kathy McClean, MD from East Midlands SHA); and
- Education and Training (led by Julie Moore from UHB).
The Government's response to the recommendations in Front Line Care: the report of the Prime Minister's Commission on the Future of Nursing and Midwifery in England. Sets out the Government's response to the Commission's 20 recommendations, clustered into seven themes: the socio-economic value of nursing and midwifery, high quality compassionate care, health and wellbeing, caring for people with long-term conditions, promoting innovations in nursing and midwifery, nurses and midwives leading services, and careers in nursing and midwifery. The response includes the following recommendations:- more autonomy for nurses and midwives;
- new contractual right for staff to raise their concerns direct to the Care Quality Commission;
- to hold NHS organisations to account for the development of skills for nurses and midwives;
- to develop leadership fellowships for nurses and midwives to ensure that leadership talent in nursing and midwifery is spotted and nurtured; and
- to ensure that there are nationally funded clinical academic training schemes to help nurses and midwives progress into stimulating research careers.
News
Twenty centres to put health visitors at the heart
of the community. Announces that 20 'Early Implementer Sites'
will showcase the new service model for health visiting, which has
been developed with the profession, and was recently set out in the
Government’s Health Visitor Implementation Plan 'A Call to Action'.
Health visiting teams in these areas will work with other local
health and children’s services, as well as with families
themselves, so that by April 2012 they can provide this dynamic new
service in ways and at times and places that suit their local
community. The initiatives are part of the Government’s commitment
to increase the health visitor workforce by 4,200 by 2015 and are
backed by education institutions, NHS Careers and SHAs who will be
on hand to advise and support on local opportunities.
NHS tracks more infections. The Health Protection Agency has published the first set of mandatory monthly data for meticillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) blood stream infection. The new data comes after last year’s commitment to ensure patients have access to a wider range of information about healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) to improve transparency and help drive down infections. There were 738 cases of MSSA in January 2011 and 675 in February 2011. At the same time the latest HPA monthly data show a 29 per cent reduction in cases for MRSA and a 23 per cent reduction in cases for C. difficile between February 2010 and February 2011. The DH has also announced that mandatory surveillance would also be extended to include E. coli data from June 2011.
Radical approach to drugs recovery piloted. The Home Office's Drugs Strategy, published in December 2010, included a new approach to the local delivery of drug interventions that would incentivise the system to deliver on recovery outcomes. The DH has now announced that eight areas will pilot a Payment by Results (PBR) scheme for drugs recovery for adults that rewards providers who support individuals to recover from their dependence by using clear outcomes for the individual, their families and communities.
Bevan Brittan Updates
Expert shopping – an end to 2 for 1 offers? We
will all be familiar with CPR 35.4, which states that no party may
call an expert or put in evidence an expert’s report without the
court’s permission. Where an expert has been identified
and their report is disclosed post proceedings, then to change the
identity of their expert, a party must apply to the
Court.
Jackson goes forth: the end of 'no win, no fee', but what else? The 29 of March is remembered for several important events in history: the day on which the last US combat troops departed South Vietnam in 1973; the day in 1886 on which Dr John Pemberton brewed the first ever batch of Coca-Cola in his Atlanta back-yard; and the day, in 1981, that thousands of people ran, limped and sweated their way through the inaugural London Marathon. All notable occurrences, justly recorded and remembered. But for those of us defending NHS Trusts against clinical negligence actions, the date will be remembered for another reason: as the date the Government announcing the death knell for ‘no-win, no-fee’ CFAs which have been such a blight on the litigation landscape for the last decade or so.
If you wish to discuss any of the items raised in this section please contact Claire Bentley.
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