Health Management and Policy Alert

British Social Attitudes survey 33

National Centre for Social Research -
This British Social Attitudes report aims to uncover the consequences of seven years of austerity for social and political attitudes in Britain. The chapter on the NHS explores levels of dissatisfaction with the NHS and how this has changed over time and in relation to trends in NHS funding. It examines new data identifying the reasons for NHS dissatisfaction and satisfaction.

• Full report
• NHS chapter
• National Centre for Social Research - publications

Supporting integration through new roles and working across boundaries

The King's Fund -
This report looks at the evidence on new roles and ways of spanning organisational workforce boundaries to deliver integrated health and social care. Commissioned by NHS Employers and the Local Government Association, it finds increasing focus on roles which facilitate co-ordination and management of care, development of existing roles to increase the skill-mix and enable the provision of more holistic care, and a limited number of truly innovative roles, the most notable being care navigators and community facilitators, enablers or link workers. Given that many of the skills required for integrated care already exist within the workforce, it suggests the central question is how to use those skills more effectively to support boundary-spanning activities.

• Report
• The King's Fund - press releases

Waiting time policies in the health sector

Office of Health Economics -
The main purpose of this briefing is to discuss waiting time policies in the health sector from an international perspective and to highlight which policies have worked in the last decade in OECD countries. It also looks at how to compare waiting times internationally and where the UK stands in those international figures.

• Briefing
• Office of Health Economics - publications

Single Oversight Framework consultation

NHS Improvement -
NHS Improvement have launched a consultation on a single oversight and improvement framework. The purpose of the framework is to identify where providers may benefit from improvement support across five areas: quality of care; finance and use of resources; operational performance; strategic change; and leadership and improvement capability. The framework is set to replace the legacy Risk Assessment Framework (used by Monitor to regulate Foundation Trusts) and the Accountability Framework used by the NHS Trust Development Authority. The deadline for responses is 4 August 2016.

• Online response form
• NHS Improvement - consultations

Integrating care in Southwark and Lambeth: what we did and how we did it

Southwark and Lambeth Integrated Care (SLIC) - 
SLIC was set up in 2012 as a partnership of commissioners and providers to work together with citizens to improve the value of care in Southwark and Lambeth. This evaluation report outlines the achievements of SLIC, highlights its key successes and challenges, and shares lessons learned. It explains how care was integrated in Southwark and Lambeth and includes a ‘Framework for Success’ as a resource for others undertaking similar programmes of transformation.

• Report
• SLIC news

Rebooting the cap: improving protection from catastrophic care costs

Strategic Society Centre - 
The government has postponed the ‘capped cost’ reforms to care funding in England until April 2020. Following this announcement, social care campaigners have questioned whether the ‘capped cost’ reforms will be postponed again before 2020, or scrapped completely. This report explores the options for the government in rebooting the capped cost reforms, arguing that the current pause in implementation presents an opportunity to adapt the reforms to developments in health and social care policy, and address potential downsides to the ‘capped cost’ model, such as the risk of unintended consequences.

• Report
• SSC publications

Diabetic eye screening: consent and cohort management

Public Health England (PHE) - 
This document provides guidance on patient consent and cohort management within the NHS diabetic eye screening programme. It includes information about the provision and management of information; consent for screening; and consent for use of information throughout the screening pathway.

• Guidance
• PHE publications

Preventing maternal mortality: it's okay to ask

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) - 
This animation was produced in conjunction with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow and it aims to help doctors assess unwell pregnant or post-partum women. The video is accompanied by a poster which highlights the main causes of maternal death and provides doctors and midwives with advice for assessing pregnant and post-partum women who are feeling unwell.

• Video
• Poster
• Press release

Home care for older people: quality standard

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) - 
This new quality standard highlights how social care providers can help older people maintain their independence for as long as possible. It encourages providers to take a more personalised approach to home care planning and advises that family and carers should also be involved in the decision making process.

• Quality standard
• Press release

Children and young people's mental health - policy, services, funding and education

House of Commons Library - 
This briefing provides an overview of mental health service provision for children and young people in England. It looks at key government policies on children and young people's mental health, government inquires, and school interventions.

• Briefing
• Commons Library publications