Health Management and Policy Alert

Healthy lives, healthy people: our strategy for public health in England

This white paper sets out the Government’s long-term vision for the future of public health in England. The aim is to create a ‘wellness’ service (Public Health England) and to strengthen both national and local leadership. [White paper minisite] (Department of Health - publications)

 

Healthy lives, healthy people: impact assessments

This suite of impact assessments accompanies the public health white paper, Healthy lives, healthy people. The impact assessments directly impact the public sector only and are based around five critical workstreams: structure of public health England; commissioning within the public health system; the ring fenced funding of public health England; public health outcomes; and information and intelligence. (Department of Health - publications)

 

Our health and well-being today

This summary of evidence aims to set out the state of the nation’s health and wellbeing in 2010. The evidence base has informed the development of the white paper Healthy lives, healthy people. (Department of Health - publications)

 

Review of the regulation of public health professionals

This report discusses the issue of professional regulation within public health on behalf of the Chief Medical Officers in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The White Paper Healthy lives, healthy people invites views on the report, and asks a specific consultation question on this report. (Department of Health - publications)

 

The dental national decontamination survey 2010

This report contains results of a survey of decontamination standards in primary care dental practices. (Department of Health - publications)

 

Pay review bodies: review for 2011

Written and statistical evidence from the Health Departments for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. (Department of Health - publications)

 

Hospital Guide 2010

The Dr Foster hospital guide provides patients with access to independent and easy to understand information. This year’s guide covers deaths in hospital, stroke, orthopaedic care, urological care and the recording of safety incidents, particularly blood clots. To accompany the hospital guide, Dr Foster have also created report cards for every NHS hospital using a number of measures which are important to patients. [Press release] (Dr Foster Intelligence - news)

 

Health care systems: efficiency and policy settings

This report warns that governments must make their health care systems more efficient if they are to maintain quality of care without putting further stress on public finances. In compiling this report, the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) have created profiles of the health care systems of all the OECD countries. [United Kingdom health care system profile] (OECD - publications)

 

Medication errors in primary care.

This study, commissioned by the Department of Health, investigated whether a specifically designed IT-based intervention by pharmacists could help reduce medication errors made in general practice. [Commissioning brief] [Briefing paper]

 

The NHS atlas of variation in healthcare: reducing unwarranted variation to increase value and improve quality

In the recent White Paper, Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS, there is a commitment to providing better value from the resources available to healthcare. This requires the NHS to address variations in activity and spend. Such variations indicate the need to focus on appropriateness of care, and to investigate the possibilities that there is overuse of some interventions and that some lower value activities are undertaken. In the atlas, Right Care presents a series of 34 maps of variation selected from topics which National Clinical Directors and others have identified as being of importance to their clinical specialty. (NHS Right Care - publications)