Health Management and Policy Alert

30/11/06 - Cancer Reform Strategy

Plans for a new Cancer Reform Strategy were outlined by Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt and confirmed by Professor Mike Richards, National Cancer Director, in a Dear colleague letter.The new Cancer Reform Strategy will build on the progress of the Cancer Plan by spreading best practice and recommending what more needs to be done by cancer networks and the NHS to improve clinical outcomes, drive up quality and increase value for money. Cancer Research UK commissioned a report from the King's Fund in August 2006, which underlined the necessity of updating the Cancer Plan to continue to improve services. Professor Richards will be setting out the process for developing this strategy before the end of December 2006. (DH - press release)

30/11/06 - Variations in the experiences of patients using the NHS services in England 2004/2005

This report is the result of the analysis of four surveys of patients and mental health service users, conducted by the Healthcare Commission during 2004/5. The study covers responses of over 280,000 people and the services of 535 NHS organisations in England. The surveys included in the study are:

• service users using community mental health services
• patients using local health services (primary care trusts)
• patients using emergency departments
• patients using outpatient departments

The findings show that people who are older, from an ethnic minority group, or disabled, report different experiences of the NHS than the rest of the population. (Healthcare Commission - press release)

30/11/06 - Cancer waiting targets - a guide (version 5)

The National Cancer Plan was published in September 2000. Within the Plan there are a number of commitments and targets relating to waiting times for treatment. This document provides answers to frequently asked questions about the 2001, 2002 and 2005 Cancer Plan targets. (DH - publications)

30/11/06 - Service guidance for mesothelioma patients

This framework aims to provide strategic health authorities, cancer networks, primary care trusts and NHS trusts in England with advice on how to organise services for mesothelioma patients in order to improve standards of care. It includes advice on:

• Configuration of services
• Clinical management, care and support
• Underpinning programmes such as information, research and audit

It also includes a number of consultation questions on which views would be welcome. The closing date for comments is Thursday 18 January 2007.
(DH - consultations)

29/11/06 - Two discussion papers on partnerships

The Integrated Care Network (ICN) has published two discussion papers on partnerships. Strengthening service user and carer involvement: a guide for partnerships aims to assist organisations that are working in partnership to involve service users and carers effectively. It provides a framework for thinking about types of involvement, describes key issues for organisations in approaching the subject and examines the options for involvement. The Health Services Management Centre at the University of Birmingham were commissioned by the Integrated Care Network and by Change for Children to produce the second paper. We have to stop meeting like this: the governance of inter-agency partnerships considers the wider literature on partnership working and on the role of boards. In particular, it draws attention to the symbolic role of multi-agency governing boards, identifies key tensions and challenges, and summarises some key academic models and frameworks. (ICN - news)

29/11/06 - Department of Health resource accounts 2005/6

These accounts consolidate the financial information within the Departmental Accounting Boundary which includes the parent Department of Health (DH), Purchasing and Supply Agency, and other NHS bodies funded directly by the DH. (DH - publications)

29/11/06 - UK study of general practitioners' (GP) earnings in 2004/5

This report presents the main results from the GP Earnings and Expenses Enquiry for the financial year 2004/5. Family doctors earned on average £106,000 during 2004/5, the first year of delivering the new GP contract. These are the first official statistics on GPs’ net income, before tax, since the introduction of the new contract, which brought in incentives to improve patient care and changes to the delivery of primary care services. A large proportion of GPs’ earnings are now linked to the quality of care they provide, with payments made for the provision of extra services such as contraception, child health and chronic disease clinics.
(Information Centre - press release) [BMA press release]

28/11/06 - New partnership between the Information Centre for Health and Social Care and Newchurch

The Information Centre (IC) for health and social care has announced the launch of a new working partnership with Newchurch, a commercial healthcare information consultancy. The IC and Newchurch will create an e-library of analytic methods, models, and advisory services to underpin PCT commissioner decisions on the shape of local healthcare services.

The work will focus on four key analytical areas.

1. Competition capacity and choice - to provide information and develop models which will help PCTs to understand the implications of future diversity of provision and patient choice in healthcare.
2. Investment decisions - to provide models which assist PCTs in making medium to long term decisions around future healthcare provision and the appropriateness of alternative models of care.
3. Public health intelligence – to monitor health trends and outcomes on a national and local-area basis. This will require the development of methodologies and tools to analyse data from a combination of national and local sources.
4. Risk management – to identify sources of uncertainty in relation to demand-side and supply-side issues.

The IC is not investing in, or procuring any goods or services from Newchurch. (IC - press release)

New/updated Health Management briefings/hot topics

Updated hot topics:
Alternative Provider Medical Services;
GMS Contract - general

28/11/06 - Practice based commissioning: practical implementation

Health Minister Lord Warner has launched new guidance on practice based commissioning (PBC), where GPs and other frontline professionals receive an indicative budget from their PCT to commission services on behalf of their patients and local communities. The guidance outlines:

• reduced bureaucracy around business cases and tendering, making it easier for practices to develop new services, and making it easier for them to work in consortia;
• more financial freedom - practices will be able to take on a larger budget covering an increased scope of services, and practice budgets will be moved to represent more of a 'fair share' of PCT resources;
• strengthened local incentive schemes - to encourage more practices to engage in PBC and give practices a direct income - linked to national priorities such as the 18 weeks maximum wait.

The guidance supersedes Practice based commissioning: achieving universal coverage issued in January 2006. (DH - press release)