Health Management and Policy Alert

Securing sustainability: planning guidance for NHS trust boards 2014/15 – 2018/19

NHS Trust Development Authority (NHS TDA) -
This guidance sets out what NHS boards should focus on to be able to continue to deliver high quality care today whilst taking the necessary action to ensure they can continue to do so in the future.

• Guidance
• Detailed technical guidance
• Annex A: two year plan summary template
• Annex F: five year plan summary template 
• NHS TDA - news

Meeting the needs of patients: improving strategic planning in NHS foundation trusts

Monitor -
This document is aimed at NHS foundation trusts; it looks at what strategic and operational planning can achieve and how the sector can be supported in moving towards these goals.

• Guidance
• Monitor - publications

Annual plan review 2014/15 guidance

Monitor -
This document is Monitor’s guidance on the 2014/15 planning round. It covers Monitor’s expectations for foundation trusts and sets out details of their forthcoming annual planning review process.

• Guidance
• Operational plan commentary template
• Strategic plan commentary template
• Monitor - publications

The Care Bill: factsheets

Department of Health -
The Care Bill was introduced into Parliament on 9th May 2013 and published on 10 May 2013. These factsheets have been produced to accompany the bill.

• Factsheets

Department of Health Protecting and promoting patients’ interests: licence exemptions: guidance for providers All providers of NHS healthcare services in England will need a licence from Monitor from April 2014, unless they are exempt. The licence wil

Department of Health -
The directions apply to providers of high security psychiatric services. They set out the requirements for providers to make sure they have robust arrangements for safety and security, and for children visiting patients in high security hospitals.

• Directions
• Guidance on directions
• Directions for children's visits
• Guidance on directions for children's visits
• Department of Health - news

Protecting and promoting patients’ interests: licence exemptions: guidance for providers

Department of Health -
All providers of NHS healthcare services in England will need a licence from Monitor from April 2014, unless they are exempt. The licence will set out the conditions that licence holders will have to meet in order to provide NHS services.

• Guidance
• Department of Health - news

Liaison psychiatry for every acute hospital: integrated mental and physical healthcare

Royal College of Psychiatrists -
This report summarises existing evidence of need for liaison psychiatry services in all acute hospitals and then provides evidence for the range of problems addressed, and range of interventions required, to meet core mental health demands in acute hospitals. It also contains case examples that demonstrate the benefit of services; provide detailed considerations for service design, including principle organisational standards, access and response standards, hours of operation, remit and staffing; governance is addressed as a range of clinical and organisational risks and how these can be reduced by liaison psychiatry services are described. Lastly, key considerations required to set local standards for common mental health-related problems that occur in acute hospitals are provided.

• Report
• Royal College of Psychiatrists - publications

Beating the effects of winter pressures

British Medical Association (BMA) -
This briefing paper aims to help explain why there is increased pressure on the NHS in winter, the impact this has on NHS services, and sets out why a longer term solution is needed.

• Briefing paper
• BMA - winter pressures

Planning and delivering service changes for patients

NHS England -
This guidance is designed to support CCGs and NHS England with the planning, development and assurance of proposals for major service change and reconfiguration. It provides a high level process, sets out good practice, and explains how to assess proposals against the Government’s ‘four tests’.

• Guidance
• NHS England - news

Everyone counts: planning for patients 2014/15 to 2018/19

NHS England -
This framework describes NHS England’s ambition for the years ahead and its ongoing commitment to focus on better outcomes for patients. It describes the vision for transformed, integrated and more convenient services, set within the context of significant financial challenge. The guidance is accompanied by a suite of support tools intended to assist commissioners with their planning considerations to maximise the best possible outcomes for their local communities.

• Guidance
• Supporting documents and templates
• NHS England - news