Health Management and Policy Alert

29/07/05 - Ethnic monitoring guide

This publication, A practical guide to ethnic monitoring in the NHS and social care, promotes the standard collection and use of ethnic group and related data on patients, service users and staff of the NHS and social services. It asks the NHS and social services to use the standard 16 codes for ethnic group as the mainstay of their approach to ethnic monitoring. It updates and widens previous guidance issued in 2002. It features a range of good practice examples drawn from various parts of the NHS and social care. (DH - publications)

29/07/05 - National health research strategy

Best research for best health: a new national health research strategy is a consultation paper setting out proposals for the future direction of health research for the Department of Health and the NHS in England. The consultation period runs from 29 July 2005 until 21 October 2005. (DH - publications)

29/07/05 - General Practice Electronic Patient Records

The Department of Health has released new guidelines for the good practice of General Practice Electronic Patient Records. This document sets out good practice guidelines and provides a professional framework for the legitimisation of electronic patient records in general practice. These guidelines have been drawn up in response to changes in the law, custom and practice that have arisen since paperless general practice was legitimised in 2000 and supersede the 2000 and 2003 editions. The guidelines concentrate on addressing the issues that have recently arisen as queries to and from the DH, the NHS Connecting for Health programme in the NHS (NPfIT) and others since the last version was published in 2003.

28/07/05 - Directions for primary care trust out-of-hours services

The Directions, National Health Service Act 1977: Primary Care Trusts Out of Hours Services (Supply of Medicines etc.) Direction 2005 enables PCTs to make arrangements as they consider appropriate to ensure recipients of out of hours services receive any necessary drugs, medicines and appliances, without any delay from providers of out of hours services. (DH - publications)

28/07/05 - Consultation on community health and care services

Following the announcement in June 2005 of a White Paper consultation on community health and care services, the Department of Health has recruited the company Opinion Leader Research to run a number of regional public engagement events.  The outcomes of these events will contribute to a large-scale national event. The consultation process will be called Your health, your care, your say : improving community health and care services and will cover all aspects of the care people need in the community and in their own homes. The Your Health, Your Care, Your Say public engagement events will start in September 2005 and a White Paper is due to be published at the turn of the year.
(DH - press release)   

28/07/05 - Chief Nursing Officer's review of mental health nursing

The Chief Nursing Officer's review aims to identify a new strategy for mental health nursing in NHS funded care in England. The central question to be answered by the review is: 'How can mental health nursing best contribute to the care of service users in the future?'. The consultation is also looking for any examples of existing good practice. The consultation will close on 21st October 2005.
(DH - consultations)

28/07/05 - PCT and SHA reconfiguration - commissioning

Commissioning a patient-led NHS follows on from the publication of Creating a patient-led NHS in March 2005 and focuses on how the Department of Health will develop commissioning throughout the whole NHS system, with changes in function for PCTs and SHAs. Its focus is on creating a step-change in the way services are commissioned by front-line staff, to reflect patient choices. Strategic health authorities have between now and mid October 2005 to review their PCTs' ability to deliver the commissioning objectives and submit plans to ensure they are achieved, including reconfiguration plans where required. PCTs are being required to reduce their direct service provision to a minimum. The timetable for commissioning functions is:

• August – mid October 2005: SHAs to review their local health economy’s ability to deliver the commissioning objectives and submit plans to ensure they are achieved, including reconfiguration plans where required
• March 2006: all statutory consultation completed
• By October 2006: all reconfigurations undertaken
• October 2005: commissioning development support programme launched (2 year programme)
• March 2006: first wave of enhanced practice based commissioning implemented
• December 2006: PCTs have in place arrangements for universal coverage of practice based commissioning
• April 2007: SHA reconfiguration complete
• December 2008: Changes in PCT service provision complete
  (DH - publications) NHS Confederation - press release

28/07/05 - Physical activity and smoking cessation

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has published Final Scope and Stakeholder response comments table for both Physical Activity and Smoking Cessation.

The former is an assessment of four commonly used methods to increase physical activity: brief interventions in primary care, pedometers, exercise referral schemes and community based exercise programmes for walking and cycling. The latter is an assessment of brief interventions and referral for smoking cessation in primary care (including pharmacy and dental services as well as GPs surgeries) and other settings with particular reference to pregnant smokers and disadvantaged groups and the tailoring and targeting of interventions.

[National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence]

27/07/05 - Star ratings for NHS trusts

The Healthcare Commission has published the annual star ratings of performance for NHS trusts in England for the financial year 2004/2005. Overall the ratings show an improvement in the performance of the NHS against tougher waiting time targets for outpatient appointments and operations, as well as lower death rates for cancer and heart disease. But almost a quarter of all trusts, including a third of acute trusts, failed to achieve financial balance for the year. This is the final year that the Commission will rate performance using the current star ratings system.  Next year the inspectorate will rate trusts by reference to its new annual health check, which aims to give a more comprehensive picture of NHS performance. (Healthcare Commission - press release) BBC news item

27/07/05 - Directions for Personal Dental Services (PDS) pilot scheme proposals

The Directions, Primary Care Trusts and Strategic Health Authorities (PDS) Pilot Scheme Proposals Directions 2005   and Strategic Health Authorities (Approval of PDS Pilot Schemes) Directions 2005 come into force on 27 July 2005 and apply to England only. They set out the requirements for:

• The content of proposals for pilot schemes and
• Recommendations to the Secretary of State in respect of proposals for a pilot scheme for Personal Dental Services.

(DH - publications)