Health Management and Policy Alert

Improving staff retention: flexible working

NHS Employers - 

Offering flexible working opportunities can help employers attract and retain staff. This guide explores how to build a business case for flexible working and includes best practice, practical tips and resources to help you implement flexible working successfully. A number of case studies illustrate the range of flexible working arrangements already in place across the NHS. 

• Guide
• More detail

Children’s and young people’s experiences of loneliness: 2018

Office of National Statistics - 

Analysis of children's and young people’s views, experiences and suggestions to overcome loneliness, using in-depth interviews, the Community Life Survey 2016 to 2017 and Good Childhood Index Survey, 2018.

• Report
• More detail

National measurement of loneliness: 2018

Office for National Statistics - 

This compendium provides comprehensive information on the loneliness measurement landscape, the recommended national indicators of loneliness and the question testing underpinning our recommendations.

• Report
• More detail

The 2019 voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing and access: chapters and glossary

Department of Health and Social Care - 

An agreement between DHSC and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), on getting the best value and most effective medicines into use more quickly.

• Policy paper
• More detail

The state of medical education and practice in the UK 2018

General Medical Council - 

This report paints a stark picture of unabated pressure on health services. The report also shines a light on steps that some doctors are feeling the need to take to cope with patient numbers, some of which may be piling more pressure on other parts of the system. The research indicates many doctors are considering career changes to step away from the heavy workload placed upon doctors in primary and secondary care.

• Report
• Press release

Under pressure: the impact of the changing environment on local government complaints

Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman -
This report challenges local authorities not to “throw out the rule book” when redesigning services in the face of budget and resource pressures. It is based on nearly 40 case studies in which the Ombudsman has identified systemic problems stemming from councils changing the way they provided services. The report also recognises that although the Ombudsman receives relatively few complaints compared to the scale of local government services, sharing the learning from these cases can help councils avoid unforeseen negative consequences when undergoing change programmes.

• Report
• Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman - news

Help at home: use of assistive technology for older people

National Institute for Health Research - 

This review presents a selection of recent research on assistive technology for older people funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and other government funders. The review focuses on research around the use of technology in the home, remote monitoring systems and designing better environments for older people.

• Review
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Never too busy to learn: how the modern team can learn together in the busy workplace

Royal College of Physicians - 

This report, supported by Health Education England, helps healthcare teams make the most of daily learning opportunities in the workplace. It explores how ‘invitational’ learning environments can be created in clinical settings and, in doing so, poses two key questions: how do we create learning opportunities in the clinical workplace and how do we maximise the impact of these opportunities?

• Report
• More detail

From patent to patient: analysing access to innovative cancer drugs

Institute of Cancer Research - 

This analysis of regulatory data reveals that NHS patients are waiting longer for new cancer drugs because of delays in taking them through clinical trials and getting them approved for use. The report also found stark differences in the rate of development of new cancer drugs for different tumour types – with 15 drugs licensed for breast cancer from 2000-16, but none at all for brain cancer.

• Report
• Press release

Health Survey for England 2017: summary of key findings

National Statistics - 

The Health Survey for England (HSE) monitors trends in the nation’s health and care. It provides information about adults aged 16 and over, and children aged 0 to 15, living in private households in England. The survey is used to monitor overweight and obesity and to estimate the proportion of people in England who have certain health conditions and the prevalence of risk factors and health related behaviours, such as smoking and drinking alcohol.

• Report
• More detail