Health Management and Policy Alert

Missing out: the identification challenge

Carers UK -
Based on findings from Carers UK’s State of Caring Survey 2016, this research explores the time it takes for people to recognise they have taken on a caring role, and whether they had missed out on support because they simply didn’t think of themselves as a carer. It also looks at the impact that missing out on support can have across carers’ lives.

• Report
• Carers UK - policy and research

Realising the value: ten actions to put people and communities at the heart of health and wellbeing

NESTA -
This is the final report of the Realising the value programme, an 18-month programme funded by NHS England in support of the NHS Five Year Forward View vision to develop a new relationship with people and communities. The report sets out ten key actions on what should be done and how people need to work differently to put people and communities at the heart of health and wellbeing.

• Report
• NESTA - publications

What if the NHS had to balance its books like local government?

The King's Fund -
The NHS if is a collection of essays that explores hypothetical scenarios and their impact on the future of health and care. Our aim is to encourage new thinking and debate about possible future scenarios that could fundamentally change health and care. This essay by Lord Kerslake, Chair of King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and President of the Local Government Association, argues that there would be benefits if the NHS had to balance its books in the same way as local government.

• Read it now
• The NHS if... collection of essays

Mind the gap! The third SSNAP annual report: care received between April 2015 to March 2016

Royal College of Physicians (RCP) - 
This is the third annual Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP) report and it reveals that despite continuing improvements in stroke care there is still more work to do to ensure that all patients have access to high quality care regardless of where they live or when they are admitted to hospital. The audit measures processes of care as well as the structure of stroke services and it aims to provide timely information on how well stroke care is being delivered. 

• Report
• Organisational audit data
• Press release

Building capacity: realising the potential of community pharmacy assets for improving the public's health

Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) - 
This report, produced in conjunction with Public Health England, identifies a number of opportunities and challenges for community pharmacy teams to further support the public’s health. It provides a snapshot of the extent to which pharmacy teams are supporting the public’s health, the opportunities and challenges they may face and what can be done to address the challenges. The report includes findings from a survey of over 600 community pharmacy staff and found that 74 per cent of respondents think that the sector is underutilised but 51 per cent note that capacity in terms of staff numbers and appropriate facilities is a barrier to delivering a wider range of services.

• Report
• Press release

Frontline pharmacists: making a difference for people with long term conditions

Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) - 
This report argues the case for community pharmacists being able to routinely prescribe medicines for people with long term conditions and refer them directly to other healthcare professionals to ease the overwhelming demand facing the NHS. Currently, the care of people with long term conditions accounts for half of all GP appointments, 64 per cent of outpatient appointments and 70 per cent of all health and social care spending. The report estimates that up to £500 million of extra value could be generated if medicines were used in a more optimal manner in five therapeutic areas: asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure, vascular disease and schizophrenia. 

• Report
• Press release

The state of the NHS provider sector: November 2016

NHS Providers - 
This survey of NHS trust chairs and chief executives has revealed rising concerns over the growing NHS workforce gap. 172 NHS leaders responded to the survey and only 27 per cent of these respondents reported confidence in having the right staff numbers, quality and skill mix to deliver high-quality care. The report provides examples of where trusts are improving quality of care and increasing productivity despite financial constraints and growing demand. The report highlights that trusts are able to deliver when given achievable tasks but warns that the sustainability of services is at risk.

• Report
• Press release

Community pharmacy funding

House of Commons Library - 
In October 2016, the government announced a new funding settlement for NHS contractors providing services under the community pharmacy contractual framework. Compared to 2015/16 levels, the funding settlement includes a reduction of four per cent in 2016/17 and a further 3.4 per cent in 2017/18. The briefing paper outlines the implications of these changes.

• Briefing
• Associated documentation

Market structure, patient choice and hospital quality for elective patients

Centre for Health Economics (CHE) - 
This paper examines the change in the effect of market structure on hospital quality for elective procedures following changes in 2006 to encourage greater patient choice of hospital in England. The study finds that post-2006, hospital quality was reduced as the probability of emergency readmission was increased for hip and knee replacement patients. 

• Paper
• CHE news

Survey of GPs in England

British Medical Association (BMA) - 
A recent survey of BMA members in England finds that 84 per cent of respondents report that unchecked and growing workload pressures are undermining their ability to provide safe and quality care. Of this figure, 57 per cent described their daily workloads as ‘unmanageable’ with a further 27 per cent saying that excessive pressures are directly impacting standards.

• Survey
• Press release