Health Management and Policy Alert

Diversity and inclusion: the power of research in driving change - using research and data to promote inclusive workplaces

NHS Employers -
NHS Employers has partnered with Imperial College London, Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion and North West Coast Academic Health Science Network to produce this diversity and inclusion strategic report. Providing a workplace that celebrates and is inclusive of diversity is now essential for the NHS to operate effectively for both staff and patients. In order to monitor this, research has become an essential tool in allowing us to benchmark how effectively the NHS is performing within the standards set by equality legislation. This report is an analysis of past research into workplace diversity and inclusion across the NHS to determine how effective it has been in bringing about change with regard to the NHS becoming a more diverse and inclusive employer.

• Report
• NHS Employers - publications

Summary briefing: National Audit Office review of progress in neurology since 2012

The Neurological Alliance -
This briefing explains the key findings of the National Audit Office’s recent progress review of neurology, which assessed progress against the recommendations made by the Public Accounts Committee in 2012. It includes a short set of headline recommendations.

• Briefing
• The Neurological Alliance - news

Dental Prototype Agreements: directions and patient information

Department of Health -
From autumn 2015 up to 100 selected practices will be participating in the Dental Prototype Agreement Scheme, which will continue to test new ways of providing NHS dental care with an increased emphasis on preventing future dental disease. These supporting documents include: prototype agreement directions, financial entitlements and patient information.

• Department of Health - publications

 

Psychological therapies: next steps towards parity of care

JMC Inform -
This report looks at mental health generally, before focusing more particularly on access to psychological therapies for adults. It accepts that mental health problems need to be diagnosed and treated early to achieve the best outcomes but that unlike physical health, the continuing stigma attached to mental ill-health constitutes a barrier to access. In that context, the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme represents a success story which is helping to re-shape the landscape for mental health for the individual and the NHS as a whole. Research conducted for this report, however, finds that more remains to be done to improve access and to make the most of available resources.

• Report

Health leaders' panel: survey five

Nuffield Trust -
Sixty per cent of a panel of health leaders surveyed by the Nuffield Trust have said they are not confident that local efficiency plans will be able to achieve the savings the health service needs to deliver over the next five years.

• Survey results
• Nuffield Trust - press release

Home care: delivering personal care and practical support to older people living in their own homes

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) -
This guideline covers the planning and delivery of person-centred care for older people living in their own homes (known as home care or domiciliary care). It aims to promote older people's independence and to ensure safe and consistently high quality home care services.

• Guidance
• NICE - press release

Counting the cost of care: the council’s role in informing public choices about care homes

Local Government Ombudsman -
This report asks if families across England are paying more than they need to because they have not been given comprehensive information about the costs of care available in their area. It explains the confusion faced by people looking to place a relative in a home and examples of cases where councils provide confusing or incorrect advice, do not offer potential residents a genuine choice of affordable care home or have any affordable homes available. 

• Report
• Local Government Ombudsman - news

How should we think about value in health and care?

National Voices -
This paper asks readers to think about the elements of value in social care and examines difference approaches to thinking about value. The paper considers how new frameworks and measures of value can be created to assess financial, social and person-reported outcomes. It sets out how we might establish a broader way of understanding value and value for money in health and care.

• Paper
• National Voices - news

NHS maternity review

NHS England -
The NHS maternity review is currently underway to make recommendations for the improvement of services for women and their families. It is open to women, fathers, partners, their families and advocates, professionals, commissioners and people from representative organisations. The closing date for comments is 31 October 2015.

• Online response form
• NHS England - consultations

Transforming healthcare in England’s core cities

NHS Clinical Commissioners -
This report shows how CCGs in England’s core cities are taking up the challenge set out in the Five Year Forward View and transforming the way in which healthcare is delivered to the benefit of their local population. The key themes of the report are: developing new partnerships, ensuring equity of care across diverse populations, improving wellbeing, and finding better ways to provide healthcare services.

• Report
• NHS Clinical Commissioners - news