Health Management and Policy Alert

23/02/06 - Correction notice from the Department of Health regarding payment by results tariffs

The Department of Health has published a Dear Colleague letter in which it reports possible errors in the calculation of the 2006/07 National Tariff, published by the Department of Health on 31 January 2006. These are being corrected and will result in a revised version being published at the earliest opportunity.

(DH Dear Colleague Letter)

23/02/06 - Summary of responses published on the consultation on the Draft National Health Service (Functions of Strategic Health Authorities and Primary Care Trusts and Administration Arrangements) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2005

The consultation was on the draft regulation to change the NHS commissioner responsible for adult long term care and also covered possible changes to children's long term care. The consultation closed on 29 June 2005 and the Department of Health has now published the summary of responses which were overwhelmingly in favour of the amendments.

(DH publications)

23/02/06 - Report published on information needs of NHS boards

The Intelligent Board proposes a basic set of criteria that Information Boards of acute and mental health trusts should have if they are to provide effective strategic leadership and monitoring of hospital performance.

The report highlights particular information challenges:

• Action is required to avoid overloading Boards with excessive detail, and to present clear information on trends in performance and comparisons with others

• Under payment by results, trust Boards need to pay much closer attention to cash-flow and the margins between revenues and costs on key areas of hospital activity

• Trusts need a far better and more frequently updated understanding of how patients, their families and GPs feel about their experiences of the hospital
  (Dr Foster Intelligence)

23/02/06 - The Sainsbury Centre’s report on improving the quality of care in acute psychiatric wards

The search for acute solutions charts the progress of the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health’s three-year project working with four acute inpatient units around the country, to explore ways of improving the quality of care they offer. This report is available in hard copy only by phoning 020 7827 8352 or emailing : [email protected].

(The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health)

22/02/06 - Best practice published for income generation in the NHS

This guidance gives information and advice about income generation in the NHS. It updates the 2001 guidance, which itself replaced the 1989 guidance 'Income generation: A guide to local initiative'. The guidance is applicable to NHS bodies, which includes all NHS trusts (including ambulance trusts and mental health trusts), primary care trusts and strategic health authorities.

(DH publications)

21/02/06 - Consolidation of NHS laws in England

The Department of Health has published a Dear Colleague Letter on the draft NHS consolidation bills. The Law Commission has drafted two Bills, the National Health Service Act 2006 and the NHS (Wales) Act 2006, to separate provision about the health service in Wales from that in England.

(DH Publications)

21/02/06 - Department of Health publishes a business planning sourcebook on foundation trusts

This sourcebook has been produced by the NHS Foundation Trust Unit in the Department of Health to provide a framework which Trusts can follow to develop five year business plans in the context of system reform. The sourcebook can be downloaded as a Powerpoint presentation.

(DH publications)

21/02/06 - NHS tackles hidden waiting lists

Health Minister Rosie Winterton has announced that eight ‘pioneer’ health communities have been chosen to help the NHS deliver a maximum wait of 18 weeks from GP referral to treatment. These pioneer sites are East Kent, Gateshead, Huntingdonshire, King’s, North Nottinghamshire, Oldham, Royal Devon & Exeter and South Bedfordshire. The pioneers will start their work by developing simple and effective ways of measuring referral to treatment times – capturing everything including hidden waits for diagnostics. From there, they will look at how they can reorganise their systems so that patients can get through all the stages of the patient pathway within 18 weeks.
(DH publications)

20/02/06 - Choose and book trajectory returns

Department of Health has published Dear Colleague Letter on 2006/7 choose and book trajectories. Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) were asked to submit trajectories to deliver at least 90% of GP referrals for first consultant outpatient appointments via Choose and Book by March 2007. The purpose of the SHA trajectory return is to inform the local delivery plan for utilisation of choose and book in each PCT. The SHA trajectory should be confirmed in a letter to by 17 March 2006. In addition, the template should be completed and emailed by 17 March 2006.

(DH Dear Colleague Letter)

20/02/06 - Risk evaluation published by Monitor

Monitor has published Risk Evaluation for Investment Decisions by NHS foundation trusts. The types of transactions covered by this guidance include significant capital expenditure, acquisitions, joint ventures, equity stakes, major property transactions, mergers and alliances (e.g. formal or informal agreements to work with other institutions), irrespective of how they are financed. The financing of such transactions could be through retained surpluses, equity, debt, sale and leaseback transactions, private finance initiative (PFI)and other financially engineered transactions.

(Monitor - Independent Regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts)