Health Management and Policy Alert

Safe births - everybody’s business: independent inquiry into the safety of maternity services in England

According to an independent inquiry commissioned by the King’s Fund, the overwhelming majority of births in England are safe, despite growing pressures on maternity services. However, it warns that the lack of a systematic approach to ensuring safety across maternity services is creating unnecessary risks, and calls for a range of practical improvements. The inquiry focuses specifically on the safety of maternity services rather than their quality or efficiency, and concentrates on the safety of mothers and babies during birth. It identifies the key factors in improving safety as:

• stronger governance at board level
• better team and multidisciplinary working
• more training in safety, including training on the labour ward
• good management of staffing levels and skill mix

(King's Fund - press release)

Maternity services website

The Healthcare Commission has launched a website that enables pregnant women and their families to see details of the quality of care provided by their local maternity services. The new site allows people to access information on each trust, and see how they scored on three key questions:

• are practices in place to help ensure a high quality and effective maternity service?
• are women informed, counselled and supported to ensure they have a positive maternity experience?
• is there adequate staffing and facilities and are these used effectively?

The website also gives trusts' maternity services a score out of five in 25 different areas, including how well each local trust provided recommended antenatal screening, on appropriate use of caesarean sections and on the quality of support they offered parents in caring for the baby after discharge.
(Healthcare Commission - press release)

Evaluation of one-stop shop models of sexual health provision

In 2001, the Government published the National sexual health and HIV strategy and one of the recommendations was the provision of more comprehensive and integrated sexual health services. One of the commitments in the strategy was to undertake an evaluation of different models of one-stop shops. This report provides findings and information for PCT commissioners and service providers considering an integrated approach as well as those already providing integrated services.
(DH - publications) [BBC Health - news]

NHS pay modernisation: new contracts for general practice services in England

According to a report by the National Audit Office (NAO), the new contract for general practice has cost the DH £1.76 billion more than it originally budgeted for. However it has contributed to improved recruitment and retention of GPs, total numbers increasing from 26,833 to 30,931 since 2003. It argues that the largest overspend of the contract was due to an underestimation of the amount that GPs would earn from the pay for performance scheme, the Quality Outcomes Framework.
(NAO - press release) [BBC Health - news]

Response to the independent inquiry into Modernising Medical Careers

This is the Secretary of State for Health’s response to the recommendations of the independent inquiry into Modernising Medical Careers, led by Professor Sir John Tooke. Many recommendations are met with a direct response, other recommendations are substantial and require further development ahead of implementation. The response informs national and local planning for recruiting and training doctors in the future. (DH - publications)

Department of Health press releases

Cleanliness summit to tackle unresponsive cleaning services
Ivan Lewis announces £27m extra for Social Enterprise
Extra £7m to boost development opportunities for specialty doctors and associate specialists

NHS statistics

Breast Screening Programme, England, 2006-7
NHS Dental Statistics for England: Quarter 2: 30 September 2007
NHS Inpatient and Outpatient Waiting Times Figures - 31st January 2008
NHS Referral To Treatment (RTT) times data December 2007

Improving Access to Psychological Therapies implementation plan: national guidelines for regional delivery

The Government has announced plans to deliver £170 million of investment in talking therapies. The new programme, set out in the publication of national guidelines, will include the training of an extra 3,600 psychological therapists. By 2010/11, the NHS will spend £170m per year on psychological therapies, with more than £30m in 2008/9 and more than £100m in 2009/10. Over the next three years, this investment in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies will mean:

• 900,000 more people treated for depression and anxiety
• 450,000 of them are likely to be completely cured (as expected with NICE guidelines)
• 25,000 fewer people with mental health problems on sick pay and benefits
• 3,600 more newly-trained psychological therapists giving evidence-based treatment
• all GP practices having access to psychological therapies as the programme rolls out

(DH - press release)

In the know: using information to make better decisions - a discussion paper

This paper, published by the Audit Commission, aims to encourage people to think about the information they use whenever they make decisions. It has examples, drawn from many different sources, of how information has been used in improving public services. It also describes how the Audit Commission is reviewing the way that information is generated, presented and used in making decisions. (Audit Commission - publications)

Code of conduct for Payment by Results

The purpose of this guidance is to establish core principles, with some ground rules for organisational behaviour, expectations as to how the system should operate, and to minimise disputes, as well as guide the resolution of them. This is the third version reflecting the experience organisations now have of operating under the new system. (DH - publications)