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12 April 2010
After months of phoney war it is a relief that the official election campaign is finally underway. We will be providing an analysis of the three main parties’ health and social care promises for National Voices members, so keep a look out in the next days and weeks.
At a King’s Fund event earlier this week Andy Burnham set out the Labour vision based on more prevention, more people-focus, more care out of hospitals and integrated health and social care. He attempted to clarify his position on NHS as the preferred provider, but it still wasn’t clear! The mood of the meeting was somewhat skeptical: good vision but how to get there now that the money was running out? During the question and answer session I urged Andy Burnham to ensure an open and honest debate about tough decisions lying ahead, including hospital closures, and earlier and better involvement of patients and citizens in major service change proposals. I called for better feedback channels for patients and carers and better and quicker responses to feedback. I said that the Government’s plans to embed patient experience in the formula for paying hospitals, while well-intentioned, risked creating a bureaucratic exercise which missed the point. Finally, on the subject of “preferred provider” I spoke up for the role of the voluntary sector as service provider, champion of users and partner of the NHS and social care systems.
National Leadership Day National Voices and nine members played an important role at the recent National Leadership Day, leading a number of workshops to inform senior NHS people. A full review can be accessed from the National Leadership website.
Citizen involvement in major service change. The Yorkshire Post has published a National Voices opinion piece, developing the hospital closures theme of our letter in last week’s Times.
Hospital bed closures. Our Chief Executive was quoted on the BBC website regarding a need to be more open and honest about hospital closures.
Call for evidence Do you have good case examples of shared decision making between clinicians and patients, and of patient and public involvement in the design and delivery of services? Do these include evidence of improvements in clinical outcomes, patient experience or value for money? Jeremy Taylor recently joined members of the NHS Alliance at a meeting with Sir John Oldham at the Department of Health. Sir John is leading part of the Department’s QIPP programme (quality, innovation, productivity and prevention). This is the programme which is seeking to do more for less as the NHS gears up to find up to £20 billion of savings in the short term and cope with rising demand in the longer term. Sir John understands the value and relevance to QIPP of shared decision making and of patient and public involvement. He is keen to see good practice examples of both. Please forward anything you think might be useful to the National Voices team. It will be useful for us too, as we amass the evidence for our planned “white paper” later this year.
NHS LifeCheck needs you! The NHS will be reviewing the NHS LifeCheck website, with the aim of refreshing some of the content and improving the look and feel of the site. The NHS is also intending to improve the content and navigation of NHS Baby LifeCheck, so again please send your comments to the above email address.
4. Health update
eMC Medicine Guides: a rebrand and a refresh eMC Medicine Guides, which provides up to date information about more than 2,700 medicines, has been rebranded and refreshed to provide a better online experience for its users.
New Information Prescriptions Service NHS Choices currently provides a national information directory for a number of long-term conditions. The new Information Prescriptions Service builds on the information currently available on NHS Choices but will also include information from key national charities and will allow local organisations to upload their own information. The information prescription can be printed, emailed to patients as a digital version and stored in the patient’s records.
The service will make it easier for health and social care staff, patients and carers to find and select relevant and reliable information. The service will go live in late April 2010 and will be accessed from www.nhs.uk/ips.
E-learning module NHS Employers have developed an e-learning module to help staff to develop skills in identifying and meeting patients' information needs. The module will be available to health and social care staff and is being launched at the Long-term Conditions Conference in Harrogate on 15 & 16 April 2010. Click for further details.
Personal Budgets Update In 2009, over half the primary care trusts (PCTs) in England applied to become personal health budgets pilot sites. Now 73 PCTs, in 66 sites, have provisional pilot status. A website has also been developed to provide pilot sites with the necessary information and guidance for the evaluation.
Social care could get worse before it gets better National Voices has responded to the publication of the Government’s social care white paper. Click here for our statement.
Invest in Engagement The Picker Institute has launched a new website, invest in engagement, providing in one place a database of research evidence on the impact and benefits of engaging patients in the design and delivery of services
Afiya Trust launches BME wellbeing manifesto Afiya Trust has recently launched its new manifesto on BME wellbeing.
National Association of LINk Members The National Association of LINk Members (NALM) is a national, member-led organisation which campaigns for effective patient and public involvement (PPI) and greater democracy in health and social care services. The organisation has recently publicised its most recent publication.
Carers UK manifesto Carers UK has published their manifesto for the general election.
Violence against women and children The Taskforce on health aspects of violence against women and children final report has been published on the Department of Health website.
Direct payment for health care This consultation document seeks views on the Government’s proposals for piloting direct payments for health care. This is part of the wider pilot programme to explore personal health budgets announced in High Quality Care for all.
Bridging the quality gap The Health Foundation has launched a report about heart failure. ‘Bridging the quality gap: heart failure’ suggests that prevention is key to improving outcomes for people with heart failure.
Laurence-Moon-Bardet-Biedl Society Annual Conference Date: 23rd 24th 25th April 2010 Venue: Hilton Hotel, Northampton Description: A weekend conference for families and professionals. (Daily rates available). Workshops on Friday evening, conference & workshops on Saturday. Children and young adults can spend the day at the Theme Park, enabling delegates to attend talks on research and study of Laurence-Moon-Bardet-Biedl Syndrome (LMBBS) Contact: For further information please visit the website or contact Chris Humphreys 01633 718415 or e-mailchris.humphreys4@ntlworld.com
Complaints Date: 19th May 2010 Venue: Manchester Conference Centre, Manchester Description: The conference opens with a presentation from Chairman, Chris Bostock Head of Public and Patient Experience Department of Health, who addresses good Complaints handling and how we are moving forward with the new system. Since the reform of the Complaints systems, the role of the Ombudsman’s office has become increasingly important. You will hear lessons from Complaints to the Ombudsman, ensuring a proportionate response and the new single system for independent review. Contact: For more information please call Hanisha on 020 8541 1399, email Hanisha or visit www.healthcare-events.co.uk. Download Brochure
National Commissioning Conference 2010 Date: 15th 16th June 2010 Venue: The Lowry Hotel, Manchester Description: Commissioning is complex, challenging and at the heart of good public services. The bleak economic outlook means the drive – and demand – for efficient services is increasing. This event is for commissioners and providers from across health and social care to share problems, discuss solutions and learn from each other’s experiences. Book before 30 April 2010 and receive a 20% discount. Please quote NCC/EB01 to qualify for this offer. Contact: For information on the programme, speakers and to register, visit www.guardian.co.uk/nationalcommissioning.
The Psoriasis Association – Information Officer The Psoriasis Association is looking for someone who is dynamic and enthusiastic to be their new Information Officer. This is a good opportunity for someone with a good background in information management, the ability to relate to a wide range of people and who can work well in a small team to join the Association. You will need an understanding of psoriasis as well as good communication and organisational skills. You will be responsible for all the information the Association produces on its website and in other written formats. Further information can be found on their website.
Appointments to an advisory group for national specialised services
The Appointments Commission is carrying out a recruitment exercise to appoint up to six members to an advisory group for national specialised services.
If you feel that you, or anyone you know, may have the qualities the group are looking for and wish to apply, please visit the website or call 0870 240 3802 for an information pack, quoting reference DH10026.
The closing date for receipt of completed applications for these posts is 12 noon on Tuesday 27th April.
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