Health Management and Policy Alert

Choice and competition in public services: learning from history

This publication is based on sessions reviewing attempts to create markets in public services in four key areas: welfare-to-work, social care, health care and local government. It highlights high level lessons aimed at those either currently operating public service markets, or those seeking to extend them. It forms part of the broader work on political transitions, policy successes and recent work with The King’s Fund on the lessons of the coalition’s legislative process to reform the NHS.

• Document
• Institute for Government - publications

Information sharing challenge fund (ISCF)

This dear colleague letter announces newly available funding to develop digital services that improve patient care and can be used to share information more easily across the NHS. Funded projects are expected to lead to a successful deployment and use of solutions based on the NHS interoperability toolkit. The ISCF is open to eligible NHS organisations.

• Dear colleague letter
• ISCF prospectus
• Application form
• Press release
• Department of Health - news

Health protection and local government

This provisional guidance describes the arrangements for preventing, planning for and responding to health protection incidents and outbreaks within the new system, focusing on those which do not require mobilisation of a multi-agency response under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (CCA). It also gives further details about the nature of the local authorities’ planned new duty to protect the health of the population.

• Guidance
• Department of Health - news

There when you need it the most?: the cancer drugs fund 2011-12 annual report

This report provides an evaluation of the impact of the cancer drugs fund on access to cancer drugs in England.

• Report
• RCF - news

Right data, right payment: annual report on the Payment by Results (PbR) data assurance programme 2011/12

This report presents the key findings from the 2011/12 programme, which includes reviews of commissioner arrangements to secure good data quality on the information that underpins PbR, audits of inpatient clinical coding and the key data set that supports payment under PbR at acute NHS trusts and foundation trusts, and following up on recommendations made in previous audits to see how well NHS trusts and foundation trusts have delivered. 

• Report
• Audit Commission - publications

Process for making severance payments to very senior managers in Strategic Health Authorities and Primary Care Trusts

This letter from Sir David Nicholson sets out the new approval process to be followed when making a termination payment to very senior managers (VSMs) employed by primary care trusts (PCTs).  It clarifies the process for all VSMs employed by strategic health authorities and PCTs.

• Dear colleague letter 
• Department of Health - news

Interim measures for patient experience at the interfaces between NHS services

This publication highlights the data sources available to help NHS organisations assess patient experience of integrated care locally, as no single bespoke measure is currently available. This comes in response to the NHS Future Forum's recommendations that new patient experience measures should be developed to evaluate patients’ experiences across whole journeys of care.

• Report
• Interim integration measures 
• Department of Health - news

Quality profiles

The practice profiles aim to enable commissioners to compare the relative quality of their providers, to enable providers to benchmark their performance against the national average, and to share with patients and the public information on the quality of the services being provided. Quality profiles have also been published for CCGs. They fit into the new commissioning architecture of the NHS, and aim to support the patient information revolution by putting this information freely and transparently into the public domain.

• Practice quality profiles
• Practice quality profiles - case study
• CCG quality profiles

Specialist services: a guide for commissioners

This guide focuses on black and minority ethnic (BME) voluntary and community organisations (VCOs), which are designed and delivered by and for the users and communities they aim to serve, and often have to address complex needs. This guide outlines how specialist services can offer a means through which to deliver the holistic approach required to meet the multiple needs of a group of individuals. 

• Guide
• NACVA - news

Good support for people with complex needs: what does it look like and where is the evidence?

This study scopes the evidence on good practice in social care for disabled and older people with severe and complex needs, and to find out what this group consider to be key features of good support. It also identifies examples of potential good practice and makes recommendations for future evaluation.

• Report 
• Case studies
• Project page
• SPRU - publications