This week, read Secretary of Health Andrew Lansley’s letter to all NHS chairs about the Government’s proposed changes to public service pension schemes, find out about the launch of Phase One of the Children and Young People’s IAPT and download the latest medical device alerts from the MHRA.
Download ‘the week’: issue 221, 28 October – 3 November 2011 (PDF, 91K)
Download ‘the week’: issue 221, 28 October – 3 November 2011 (RTF, 524K)
On the agenda
1. The NHS Pension Scheme
Yesterday, the Secretary of Health Andrew Lansley wrote to all NHS chairs about the Government’s proposed changes to public service pension schemes. Chief executives should also have received a copy of that letter. The letter included a pensions fact sheet (in both PDF and Word formats) for circulation to NHS staff explaining the proposed changes in greater detail. Chairs were asked to make sure all staff receive a copy of the fact sheet by 18 November 2011 through their local communication channels.
DH is also developing an online pensions calculator and other materials so members of the NHS Pension Scheme will be able to explore how the proposed changes will affect them personally. These resources will be available later this month.
For further information, read Andrew Lansley’s letter and the pensions factsheet
2. Launch of Phase One of Children and Young People’s IAPT
Ministers have announced an investment of £32 million over the next four years in Children and Young People’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme, taking the successful parts of the Adult IAPT programme and adapting them for children and young people. The first phase of the project will invest in three collaboratives based around London, Salford and Reading. The focus of the development is on extending training to staff and service managers in child and adolescent mental health services and embedding evidence-based practice.
Policy news
3. GP contract settlement for 2012-13
4. NHS delivery of Expert Patients Programme
5. Bowel cancer awareness campaign ? January 2012
Consultations and evaluations
6. Draft guidance on viral haemorrhagic fevers – technical input required
7. Market entry and exit by means of pharmaceutical needs assessments
Publications
8. The Cold Weather Plan
9. The Rosepark Care Home Fatal Accident Inquiry
10. Government response to Munro review of child protection
11. New NHS Information Centre Indicator Portal
12. Mental Health Top Tips
Conferences and events
i. what’s new
13. Expert on Call: Productive Community Services –impact on the frontline
14. The right prescription: call to action for people with dementia
No news this week
Patient safety alerts
Refer to website below
Extra notes
Chief executives are reminded that all communications requiring the attention of NHS and local authority management must include a Gateway reference number. In order to streamline the number of communications issued by the Department, these will continue to be summarised in ‘the week’ every Thursday.
Policy news
3. GP contract settlement for 2012-13
(Gateway reference number: 16837)
This letter from Dame Barbara Hakin sets out the outcome of negotiations between the BMA General Practitioners Committee and NHS Employers on changes that will apply to general medical services (GMS) contractual arrangements in England from April 2012.
Action: SHA cluster chief executives will wish to put in place measures to support PCTs to achieve the benefits that the changes agreed to the GMS contract can deliver for patients and the NHS.
Access the letter and read more aboout the Contract Settlement
4. NHS delivery of Expert Patients Programme
(Gateway reference number: 16822)
In England, NHS organisations and local authorities are able to deliver the Expert Patients Programme under a DH Licence from Stanford University. However, recent changes have resulted in a number of new provider organisations which are out of scope of the DH Licence. If your organisation is providing Expert Patients Programme (EPP) or its derivatives as a social enterprise or a community interest company, it is no longer covered by the DH Licence.
Action: NHS chief executives will wish to ensure they are appropriately licensed to deliver EPP courses.
Read more about the delivery of expert patients programme
5. Bowel cancer awareness campaign – January 2012
(Gateway reference number: 16846)
In August, the NHS Medical Director wrote to all trust chief executives asking them to prepare for the forthcoming campaign. We know from the pilots that the campaign will result in increases in two-week urgent referrals for suspected cancer as well as increased endoscopies.
Action: NHS chief executives will wish to assure themselves that necessary preparations are in hand.
Read the letter from Professor Sir Bruce Keogh published in August 2011
Consultations and evaluations
6. Draft guidance on viral haemorrhagic fevers – technical input required
(Gateway reference number: 16799)
The Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens has launched a technical stakeholder engagement exercise to invite specialist views on their updated draft guidance on the management of viral haemorrhagic fevers. Technical input to the draft guidance is needed to ensure that it is comprehensive, clear and fit for purpose.
Action: NHS chief executives and their colleagues who wish to contribute to the exercise can respond by 23 December 2011, using the questionnaire provided, via email to acdpvhf@dh.gsi.gov.uk
Read the stakeholder engagement document and quetionairre
7. Market entry and exit by means of pharmaceutical needs assessments
(Gateway reference number: 16176)
Comments are invited on draft National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2012 and accompanying documents.
Action: PCT chief executives who wish to respond are invited to do so by 27 January 2012.
Read more about the consultation
Publications
8. The Cold Weather Plan
(Gateway Reference Number: 16525)
The Cold Weather Plan was published on 1 November 2011. It is part of the wider suite of measures that the DH and the NHS are taking to protect individuals and communities from the effects of severe winter weather. The letter from the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) informs how the plan provides advice for individuals, communities and agencies on how to prepare for and respond to severe cold weather as part of wider winter planning.
Action: NHS and local authority chief executives will wish to consider the preparatory actions as requested in the covering letter from the CMO.
Read more and access the Cold Weather Plan and covering letter
9. The Rosepark Care Home fatal accident inquiry
(Gateway reference number: 16838)
In consideration of the implications of this inquiry for the NHS, David Flory is writing to NHS chief executives about guidance to enable those responsible for managing fire safety in healthcare premises to ensure they are compliant with the requirements of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Action: NHS chief executives will wish to consider the implications and discuss with relevant professionals in their organisations
Read more about the inquiry and access the letter
10. Government response to Munro review of child protection
(Gateway Reference Number: 16852)
The Department of Health and the Department for Education published a work programme on 31 October 2011 to ensure that effective arrangements to safeguard children are central considerations of the health reforms. The programme has been co-produced with the NHS, local government and other partners.
Action: NHS and local authority chief executives will wish to be aware of this work programme and of plans to continue to develop it in co-production. Comments can be emailed to safeguardingchildren@dh.gsi.gov.uk
11. New NHS Information Centre Indicator Portal
(Gateway reference number: 16848)
One thousand indicators covering a wide range of population health topics have been brought together in the NHS Information Centre’s new Indicator Portal. It currently includes indicators previously on the Clinical and Health Outcomes Knowledge Base, the Local Basket of Inequalities Indicators and the Summary Hospital-level Mortality Indicator.
Action: NHS chief executives and directors of social care should encourage their staff to use this new resource when planning and monitoring services.
NHS Information Centre Indicator Portal
12. Mental health top tips
(Gateway reference number: 16709)
As part of the QIPP challenge, the Department has worked closely with mental health chief pharmacists to produce a top tips document of mental health medicines use efficiency schemes.
Action: NHS chief executives will wish to discuss with their medical directors to consider how the schemes could support local Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention (QIPP) plans. NHS chief executives will wish to pay special attention to those schemes covering primary care, antipsychotics in dementia and board backed strategies.
Conferences and events
i. what’s new
13. Expert on Call: Productive Community Services – impact on the frontline
(Gateway Reference Number: 16843)
In this Expert on Call, held on 17 November 2011, Sue Hill at the NHS Institute will discuss the impact Productive Community Services is having on frontline teams that have been implementing the programme for several months and will share the experiences of two specific teams.
Action: NHS chief executives and their colleagues can register for this free web seminar at Expert on Call
14. The right prescription: call to action for people with dementia
(Gateway Reference Number: 16844)
In this seminar, held on 17 November 2011, Nadia Chambers from the NHS Institute will talk about the ‘Call to Action’, a unique approach that blends core principles from social movements, community organising, service improvement and organisational development. The goal is to enable others to achieve common purpose through shared values and commitment, creating ‘contagious commitment’ to deliver results in challenging times.
Action: NHS chief executives and their colleagues can register for this free web seminar at HPHL Online
ii. places still available
No news this week
Patient safety alerts
The following alerts have recently been sent to NHS audiences by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). These are reproduced below and NHS trusts are expected to take action as specified in each notice by the date given.
Unless otherwise stated, guidance referred to in the bulletin has not been commissioned or endorsed by the Department of Health ? it is evidence that organisations and professionals may find helpful in improving practice. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is the Department’s provider of accredited evidence and guidance, which can be found on the Institute’s website