Health Management and Policy Alert

Digital health and Covid-19: a PRSB consultation

Professional Record Standards Body (PRSB) - 

This report examines the digital transformation of health and care services during the pandemic and recommends how the system can use the lessons from Covid-19 to advance digital change, while maintaining safety and prioritising citizen’s needs. The report is based on consultation with more than 100 PRSB members and partners including the Royal Colleges, social care system leaders, health care providers, patient groups, regulators and others.

• Report
• Press release

The life and death of Elizabeth Dixon: a catalyst for change

Department of Health and Social Care - 

Elizabeth Dixon was a child with special health needs. She had been born prematurely at Frimley Park Hospital on 14 December 2000. Following treatment and care at Great Ormond Street Hospital and a children’s hospice she was nursed at home under a care package. As a result of a failure to clear a tracheostomy tube she asphyxiated and was pronounced dead at Frimley Park hospital on 4 December 2001. The independent investigation (chaired by Dr Bill Kirkup and commissioned by the Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, as Secretary of State for Health) looked at the events surrounding the care of Elizabeth and makes a series of recommendations in respect of the failures in the care she received from the NHS.

• Report
• More detail

Supporting midwives to address the needs of women experiencing severe and multiple disadvantage

Royal College of Midwives (RCM) -  

Midwives can be extraordinarily effective in identifying needs and advocating for vulnerable women during their pregnancy, but their effectiveness is often hampered by a lack of resources and professional support. This must be addressed if midwives are to give women experiencing severe and multiple disadvantage the level of integrated support they need, to lessen the risk to them and their babies. In this position statement, the RCM calls on all UK NHS bodies to adopt its five-point plan to improve these women's outcomes.

• Position statement
• More detail

Integrating care: next steps to building strong and effective integrated care systems across England

NHS England - 

This document gives details of NHS England's proposals for a more effective and responsive care system across England. It sets out how NHS organisations, local councils, frontline professionals and others will join forces in an integrated care system (ICS) in every part of England from April 2021. Patients, NHS staff, partner organisations and interested members of the public are asked to submit their views on the proposals. The closing date for responses to the consultation is Friday 8 January 2021.

• Document
• More detail

Improving the nation's health: the future of the public health system in England

Health Foundation - 

In light of the impact of the pandemic and the government’s decision to abolish Public Health England (PHE), this briefing explores what needs to be put in place to make progress on the government’s commitments to improve the nation’s health. It looks at the role government can play in improving the nation’s health before examining how England might transition to a new public health system and what the main priorities for any new system should be.

• Briefing
• Press release

Technical report: the impact of Extensive Care Service and Enhanced Primary Care in Fylde Coast - findings from the Improvement Analytics Unit

The Health Foundation -
This briefing finds evidence that multidisciplinary teams may increase emergency hospital activity at least in the short term. It evaluates two integrated team initiatives developed in the Fylde Coast NHS vanguard: the Extensive Care Service (ECS) and Enhanced Primary Care (EPC). Both use risk stratification to help identify adults with complex chronic care needs who are at risk of hospitalisation. The analysis has found that neither model of care reduced hospital activity during the period analysed, but it could not conclude that the higher levels of activity were a direct causal effect of ECS or EPC.

• Report
• The Health Foundation - publications

NHS oversight framework – CCG year end assessment 2019/20: methodology manual

NHS England -
This document summarises the methods used in the production of indicators and ratings for the year end assessment of clinical CCGs, using the NHS Oversight Framework. The framework includes a set of 65 indicators, of which 60 relate to CCGs. At the end of the financial year, there is a process to derive an overall year-end assessment for each CCG using these measures.

• Guidance
• NHS England - publications

The state of medical education and practice in the UK 2020

General Medical Council -
This report finds that, despite the pressures caused by Covid-19, 89 per cent of doctors experienced at least one positive change during the pandemic. However, it found that black and minority ethnic doctors were less likely to share the positive experiences reported by many of their white counterparts.

• Report
• General Medical Council - press release

Covid-19 vaccinator competency assessment tool

Public Health England -
This document has been developed to support the training and assessment of of healthcare workers involved in delivering the Covid-19 vaccine programme.

• Guidance
• Public Health England - publications

Covid-19 vaccination programme: information for healthcare practitioners

Public Health England - 
This document about the Covid-19 vaccination programme is intended for health care staff involved in delivering the programme. It includes detailed information on: the background of the programme; the vaccines (as they become available); vaccine recommendations and eligibility; contraindications and precautions; and vaccine administration issues.

• Guidance
• Public Health England - publications