Health Management and Policy Alert

Coronavirus (Covid-19) testing for hospices

Department of Health and Social Care -
This guidance sets out how hospices can access Covid-19 testing for staff and patients on-site, for staff visiting patients in their own homes, and for visitors to hospices.

• Guidance

Outpatient appointments intended but not booked after inpatient stays

Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch -
This investigation explores the patient safety risk of outpatient appointments which are intended but not booked following an inpatient stay. It also considers opportunities for building resilience into the process to ensure timely appointments. It concludes with two safety recommendations that are aimed at reducing the chance that patients will be lost after an inpatient stay and supporting the staff within trusts who are responsible for arranging appointments and tracking patients.

• Report
• Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch - news

Assessing England’s response to Covid-19: a framework

The King's Fund -
Learning the lessons from Covid-19 would allow England to better prepare for future pandemics, and understand the weaknesses and strengths of the health, care and public health systems. This framework sets out a structure to help untangle the complicated interactions between different elements of the response in England.

• Report
• The King's Fund - publications

Productivity of the English National Health Service: 2018/19 update

Centre for Health Economics -
This report updates the Centre for Health Economics’ time-series of NHS productivity growth for the period 2017/18 to 2018/19. NHS productivity growth is measured by comparing the growth in outputs produced by the NHS to the growth in inputs used to produce them. NHS outputs include all the activities undertaken for NHS patients wherever they are treated in England. It also accounts for changes in the quality of care provided to those patients. NHS inputs include the number of doctors, nurses and support staff providing care, the equipment and clinical supplies used, and the facilities of hospitals and other premises where care is provided.

• Report
• Centre for Health Economics - publications

IGNITE Summit 2020: learnings from the Covid-19 pandemic to accelerate medical innovation

Northern Health Science Alliance - 

This report, published following the IGNITE Summit 2020 (a medical innovation summit), sets out a series of “key game changers” to help build a resilient, prosperous and pioneering world-leading health innovation system. The summit brought together a diverse group of leaders from across the country, and internationally, to focus on what the pandemic has taught us and how we can use that learning to optimise the UK’s medical innovation system moving forward.

• Report
• More detail

Women's Health Strategy: call for evidence

Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) -

The DHSC is seeking views to help inform the development of the government’s Women’s Health Strategy. This call for evidence will run for a period of twelve weeks and is open to everyone aged 16 and over. The easiest way to participate in the call for evidence as an individual is by completing the public survey. Submissions are also sought from individuals or organisations who have expertise in women’s health, such as researchers and third-sector organisations. This consultation closes at 11:45pm on 30 May 2021.

• Call for evidence
• More detail

The essential guide to provider collaboratives

Good Governance Institute - 

As part of system working, it is expected that most NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts will belong to one or more provider collaboratives. These are governed arrangements designed to release very specific benefits as part of the NHS integrated care systems (ICS) arrangements. This guide aims to: clarify what is meant by provider collaborative; explain the benefits of provider collaboratives; provide a ‘how to’ guide on how to set up/ join a provider collaborative; and highlight common pitfalls and success factors.

• Guide
• More detail

Black, Asian and minority ethnic views on the Covid-19 vaccine

Healthwatch Camden - 

In February, Healthwatch Camden worked with three local community organisations to survey 223 people about their views on the Covid-19 vaccine and the local rollout. Nearly all responders (97 per cent) were from Black, Asian, or minority ethnic backgrounds. Amongst the findings were: the more knowledge someone felt they had about the vaccine, the greater the likelihood of them wanting to be vaccinated; people receive most of the information about the vaccine from television and social media; and younger people and people from Black or Black British backgrounds were less likely to get the vaccine, which is consistent with existing national evidence on this topic.

• Report
• More detail

Track and trace: identifying corruption risks in UK public procurement for the Covid-19 pandemic

Transparency International UK - 

This study of procurement during the pandemic involved a painstaking review of nearly 1,000 contracts worth a total of £18 billion. It concludes that the way the UK government handled bids for supplying personal protective equipment (PPE) and other Covid-19 response contracts appears partisan and systemically biased in favour of those with political access.

• Report
• Press release

Spending on health in Europe: entering a new era

World Health Organization Europe - 
This report argues that governments need to maintain a higher level of public spending on health for the wider benefit of society despite expected budgetary pressures following the pandemic. It analyses health spending across all 53 Member States of the WHO European Region over nearly two decades.

• Report
• WHO Europe - press release