Health Management and Policy Alert

Reform of support for healthcare students in England

House of Commons Library -

This note explains the proposed changes to funding for students on NHS funded courses in England, that lead to professional registration as nurses, midwives, or other allied health professionals as announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015. From September 2017 NHS bursaries which provide tuition fee funding, grants and living cost support, will be replaced by funding through the standard student support package of loans. The paper provides background to the proposals, data on nursing and midwifery students and gives reaction to the proposals.

• Research paper
• House of Commons Library - publications

Efficiency, equity and equality in health and health care

Centre for Health Economics -
Three common “Es” have high ethical and political content for health policy: efficiency, equity and equality. This paper examines the links between the three, with especial attention given to (a) the claimed conflict between efficiency and equity, (b) the equity of inequalities and (c) the conflict between six equity principles: equal health, equal health gain, equal value of additional health, maintaining existing distributions, allocation according to need and equal per capita resources.

• Research paper
• Centre for Health Economics - news

Cost-effectiveness thresholds in health care: a bookshelf guide to their meaning and use

Centre for Health Economics -
This paper explains the essential meaning of a cost-effectiveness threshold, using the simple metaphor of a bookshelf. Implications of its use, misuse and non-use are explored. These matters are discussed in the context of decisions by governments and agencies concerning the inclusion or exclusion of healthcare technologies in public programmes.

• Research paper
• Centre for Health Economics - news

The spending review: what does it mean for health and social care?

The King's Fund -
The King’s Fund has come together the Nuffield Trust and the Health Foundation to publish a briefing on the impact of the Spending Review on health and social care. The briefing aims to ensure that the debate is informed by a clear and objective analysis of the funding position and its implications. It concludes that health spending will not rise by as much as expected when the NHS settlement was announced and that funding for social care will continue to fall short of meeting need.

• Briefing
• The King's Fund - publications

The draft National Health Service Pension Scheme, Injury Benefits and Additional Voluntary Contributions (Amendment) Regulations 2016: consultation document & explanatory notes

Department of Health -
The Department of Health is consulting on a draft statutory instrument, ‘The National Health Service Pension Scheme, Injury Benefits and Additional Voluntary Contributions (Amendment) Regulations 2016’. This proposes amendments to the regulations that provide the rules for the NHS Pension Schemes in England and Wales, the supplementary Additional Voluntary Contribution arrangements and the Injury Benefits scheme. The closing date for comments is 12 February 2015.

• Consultation
• Department of Health - consultations

Practice guidelines for independent health complaints advocacy services

Local Government Association -
This guideline aims to provide a practical tool for local providers and commissioners to use in order to agree local service specifications, which are based on desired outcomes for the people who use the service.

• Guideline
• Local Government Association - publications

 

The Government’s mandate to NHS England for 2016-17

Department of Health -
The mandate helps set direction for the NHS and helps ensure the NHS is accountable to Parliament and the public. The mandate must be published each year, to ensure that NHS England’s objectives remain up to date. It reaffirms the government’s commitment to an NHS that remains available to all, based on clinical need and not ability to pay, and that is able to meet patients’ needs and expectations now and in the future.

• Mandate
• Department of Health - publications

NHS public health functions agreement 2016-17: public health functions to be exercised by NHS England

Department of Health -
This agreement sets out the arrangements under which the Secretary of State delegates responsibility to NHS England for certain public health services (known as Section 7A services). It aims to improve public health outcomes and reduce health inequalities and contribute to a more sustainable public health, health and care system.

• Agreement
• Department of Health - publications

Personal budgets as an integral form of NHS care: a discussion paper

National Voices -
This paper argues that the use of personal budgets in health care supports the values of the NHS. It asserts that personal budgets in health offer a more targeted form of support that is available free at the point of use, according to need, and via public funds. The paper consolidates the view the idea that personal budgets can be implemented in a way that promotes community ties, rather than individualism and privatisation of health and social care and that they have the potential to improve experience and outcomes for individuals, promoting equity of access to support that can change lives.

• Report
• National Voices - news

Care of dying adults in the last days of life

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) -
These guidelines aim to put the dying person at the heart of decisions about their care, so that they can be supported in their final days in accordance with their wishes. Until recently, the Liverpool Care Pathway was used to provide good end of life care.  It was withdrawn however, following widespread criticism and a subsequent government review that found failings in several areas. As a result, NICE was asked to develop evidence-based guidelines on care of the dying adult.  The new guideline aims to tackle these and other issues by providing recommendations for the care of a person who is nearing death no matter where they are.

• Guidelines
• NICE - news