Health Management and Policy Alert

We still need to talk about boards

NHS Providers - 

This briefing sets out NHS Providers' rationale for board leadership now and in the future. It argues that board leadership, and sound local accountability, are critical in managing risk, and must remain a key component of system working. The briefing is a revised version of a paper NHS Providers published in 2015.

• Briefing
• More detail

Improving access out of hours: evaluation of extended-hours primary care access hubs

Nuffield Trust

The Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge clinical commissioning groups in outer east London commissioned the Nuffield Trust to evaluate their initiative for improving public access to primary care by providing additional capacity outside of core hours.

• Report
• More detail

Position statement on antidepressants and depression

Royal College of Psychiatrists - 

This position statement sets outs the Royal College of Psychiatrists' view on promoting optimal use and management of antidepressants. It discusses the challenges with prescribing antidepressants, including considering the evidence around efficacy, benefits and harms, ensuring they are used when clinically indicated and managing withdrawal. The statement includes range of recommendations aimed at the UK health departments, national bodies and commissioners.

• Position statement
• Press release

Patient safety essentials toolkit

Institute for Healthcare Improvement - 

This toolkit includes documents on improving teamwork and communication, tools to help you understand the underlying issues that can cause errors, and valuable guidance about how to create and maintain reliable systems. Each of the nine tools includes a short description, instructions, an example, and a blank template. Please note that free registration is required to access the toolkit.

• Toolkit

Untapped potential: investing in health and care data analytics

The Health Foundation - 

This report highlights nine key reasons why there should be more investment in analytical capability. Action and investment is needed across the system so the NHS has the right people with the right tools to interpret and create value from its data. This could result in an NHS that can make faster progress on improving outcomes for patients.

• Report
• More detail

CAF UK giving 2019

Charities Aid Foundation - 

This report report finds that the proportion of the UK public who are either giving money to charity directly or are sponsoring a friend or family member dropped to 65 per cent in 2018 from 69 per cent in 2016. However one of the key findings is that rates of volunteering have remained stable. The report is the largest study of giving behaviour in the UK and is based on monthly interviews and encompasses a yearly total of c.12,000 individual interviews.

• Report
• More detail

English council funding: what’s happened and what’s next?

Institute for Fiscal Studies - 

This report finds that overall spending on local services by English councils fell by 21 per cent between 2009-10 and 2017-18. Some services have seen much deeper cuts though. Spending on planning & development and housing services fell by more than 50 per cent while cultural & leisure services and highways & transport also saw cuts of more than 40 per cent over the same period. This has allowed councils to protect social care services from the full force of budget cuts. Spending on adult social care fell by 5 per cent between 2009–10 and 2017–18 – although the numbers receiving care fell by much more – and spending on acute children’s social care services (such as social work, safeguarding and fostering) actually rose by 10 per cent.

• Report
• Press release

The impact of primary care incentive schemes on care home placements for people with dementia

Centre for Health Economics - 

The interface between primary care and long-term care is complex. In the case of dementia, this interface may be influenced by incentives offered to GPs as part of the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) to provide an annual review for patients with dementia. The hypothesis is that the annual reviews reduce the likelihood of admission to a care home by supporting the patient to live independently and by addressing carers’ needs for support.

• Report
• More detail

The community pharmacy: a guide for general practitioners and practice staff

Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee - 

This updated guide aims to support general practitioners and community pharmacists in developing more effective working relationships and in turn, improve primary care services for patients. It covers key areas such as funding arrangements for pharmacies, the impact of prescribing policies and the range of clinical and administrative functions that community pharmacies currently provide.

• Guide
• Press release

Waiting for Care: is Scotland meeting its commitment to older people

Age UK Scotland - 
This report highlights more than 4 in 10 older people with ‘critical’ or ‘substantial’ needs wait more than six weeks for social care in Scotland. It outlines six recommendations to local and national government which could help improve the position, including; more regular data recording so councils can spot trends and better respond and plan for increased demand; further efforts to attract and recruit more social care workers; and ensuring that the resources required to fund social care in the future are met.

• Report
• Press release