Health Management and Policy Alert

Making open data real consultation - responses

The consultation set out a series of questions aimed at informing Government’s strategy to embed transparency and open data as core operating principles of the public services. This document summarises the comments received in response to the consultation.

• Consultation response document
• Cabinet Office - news

 

Report of the Office of Health Economics Commission on competition in the NHS

This report recommends careful expansion of competition between providers of NHS-funded health care in England. It finds that competition in the NHS is controversial, but in the right circumstances it can be used to stimulate the provision of better health care than is achieved without competition. Three background reports are also available alongside the final report of the commission.

• Report
• Competition in the care homes market - background report
• Review of evidence on what drives economies of scope and scale in the provision of NHS services, focusing on A&E and associated hospital services - background report
• Critical review of the quality and competition measures and identification strategies used in health care studies - background report
• OHE - news

 

People transition communication

This letter has been sent out to all staff who are affected by transition in the NHS. It is part of an ongoing commitment to ensure that staff have as much information as possible about how the transition affects them as it progresses, subject to the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill. Nine factsheets have also been produced and these accompany the letter.

• Letter
• NHS Commissioning Board factsheet
• Clinical Commissioning Groups factsheet
• NHS Commissioning Support services factsheet
• Public Health England factsheet
• Local Government and Public Health Services factsheet
• Health Education England and Local Education and Training Boards factsheet
• NHS property services factsheet
• Department of Health factsheet
• NHS trust development authority factsheet
• People transition communication Q&A 
• Department of Health - publications

 

Equality in our workforce: equality data about the Care Quality Commission's staff

This report looks at staffing statistics relating to age, gender, disability, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation in CQC. The findings from this report are based on CQC's workforce in September 2011.

• Report
• Review of CQC's progress in 2010/11
• CQC - news

 

Analysing hospital variation in health outcome at the level of EQ-5D dimensions

This paper aims to measure variation in hospital quality using a new, routinely collected dataset on patient‐reported outcome measures (PROMs). It explores hospital performance with respect to self‐reported health outcomes for hip replacement patients at the level of the individual, disaggregated PROM responses.

• Paper
• CHE - publications

 

How is the NHS performing? January 2012 quarterly monitoring report

This is the fourth quarterly monitoring report produced by The King's Fund, which aims to provide a regular update on how the NHS is coping as it grapples with the evolving reform agenda as well as the more significant challenge of making radical improvements in productivity.

• Report
• Interactive presentation
• The King's Fund - publications

 

Accessing National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) information systems

This letter explain that NHS and academic organisations are expected to review their local IT, internet access policies and/or firewall settings to ensure that all researchers are able to access the NIHR systems.

• Letter
• Department of Health - letters

 

Care in crisis 2012

This report reveals that this year spending on older people’s social care in England has fallen by £500 million and the funding gap is growing. It projects that by 2012-2013 the Government would need to spend £1 billion more than this year to stop the situation getting any worse.

• Report
• Age UK - publications

 

Improving health and social care in London: supporting integrated commissioning

This report finds that joining up support services for health and social care services could mean that there is as much as £50 per head available which can be used to support local planning and decision making. It would also mean that the boroughs and newly formed Clinical Commissioning Groups would not waste public money and time replicating work.

• Report
• London Councils - press release

 

PIP silicone gel breast implants - update

The Chief Medical Officer, Dame Sally Davies, has written to health professionals, with some more detailed guidance. The latest advice from the NHS and plastic surgery experts is that women with PiP breast implants do not need to have them removed unless they have symptoms such as pain and tenderness.

• Letter
• Patient information
• Department of Health - publications