Health Management and Policy Alert

NHS pressures: future trends

British Medical Association (BMA) - 
This analysis of NHS admissions and waiting times data estimates that emergency department attendances could increase to 24 million between October 2017 and September 2018. During this period, the analysis also projects that the number of patients failing to be treated within four hours of arrival at hospital could rise by 370,000.

• Analysis
• Press release

Lifting the cap: the fiscal and economic impact of lifting the NHS pay cap

Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) - 
This briefing examines the fiscal and economic impact of two alternative scenarios for NHS pay over the next two years: increasing pay in line with Consumer Price Index inflation, and a ‘catch-up’ rate of increasing NHS pay in line with private sector earnings plus one per cent.

• Report
• IPPR publications

Rising pressure: the NHS workforce challenge

The Health Foundation - 
This report analyses trends in the NHS workforce and highlights cause for concern in national policy and planning for the workforce in England. It finds that increasing workforce instability in the NHS – caused by a high turnover of staff – is costing the NHS both financially and by reducing continuity of care for patients.

• Report
• Press release

Personal asset protection guarantee: a mechanism for sharing the costs of long term care between older property owners and the state

LaingBuisson - 
This white paper deals with the question of how the cost of long term care should be divided between the state and those individuals with care needs who have the resources to pay for themselves. Under the personal asset protection guarantee, individuals are guaranteed to keep about three-quarters of their personal assets in the event of their needing residential care in their old age.

• Paper
• Press release

Moving more, ageing well

ukactive - 
This report highlights the need for innovative solutions for keeping older people active and independent that could save billions of pounds in NHS and social care costs by preventing disease. It recommends that teaching health and social care professionals such as pharmacists and Meals on Wheels staff to deliver exercise interventions, could be key to curtailing the UK’s growing ageing crisis. 

• Report
• Press release

LGBTQI+* disabled people and self-directed social care support

National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) - 
This study finds that LGBTQI+ disabled people routinely feel they need to hide their identities from social care staff who support them. It also highlights the need for LGBTQI+ needs to be proactively considered as part of care planning in the same way as age, culture or ethnicity is. 

• Report
• Press release

Investigation: WannaCry cyber attack and the NHS

National Audit Office (NAO) - 
This report outlines the findings of an investigation into the impact of the WannaCry ransomware attack on the NHS and its patients; why some parts of the NHS were affected; and how the Department of Health and NHS national bodies responded to the attack. It finds that the Department of Health were warned about the risks of cyberattacks a year prior to the WannaCry attack and that all organisations infected by WannaCry shared the same vulnerability and could have taken relatively simple action to protect themselves. 

• Report
• Summary
• Press release

A guide to local government and community pharmacy

Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) - 
This briefing outlines how local government operates to support local pharmaceutical committees in engaging more productively with local councillors.

• Briefing
• PSNC publications

Stoptober 2016 campaign evaluation

Public Health England (PHE) - 
Stoptober is a major annual event to encourage smokers to quit for 28 days in October with the aim of stopping smoking permanently. This report provides a summary evaluation of Stoptober quit smoking health marketing campaign activity in 2016.

• Report
• PHE publications

Improving healthcare access for people with learning disabilities

Public Health England (PHE) - 
This suite of guidance outlines how social care staff can help people with learning disabilities get better access to medical services. It provides practical tips as well as links to further information and useful resources.

• Guidance