Health Management and Policy Alert

REAL Centre projections: general practice workforce in England

The Health Foundation -
This analysis warns that without urgent, significant policy action, the NHS in England is facing a shortage of GPs and general practice nurses over the coming decade. The projections show that the shortage of qualified, permanent GPs is set to get substantially worse over this decade. There is currently a shortage of around 4,200 full-time equivalent (FTE) GPs, which is projected to rise to around 10,700 FTE GPs in 2030/31, relative to the number needed to meet the rising need for care. This means that without a change to current workforce trends and policies, more than one in four of the 37,800 general practitioner posts needed to deliver pre-pandemic standards of care would be vacant.

• Report
• The Health Foundation - news

What do NHS leaders want from the health disparities white paper?

NHS Confederation -
Ahead of the publication of the health disparities white paper, NHS Confederation members have identified four priorities they hope it will reflect. These priorities are: health equity in all policies, incentivise prevention, inclusive innovation, integration and access and action on the cost-of-living crisis for communities.

• Briefing
• NHS Confederation - publications

Getting the best out of remote consulting in general practice: practical challenges and policy opportunities

Nuffield Trust -
The Covid-19 pandemic triggered a very sudden and widespread shift to remote consulting in general practice. While many patients and clinicians have welcomed the convenience, quality and safety of remote consulting, tensions still exist in choosing between remote and face-to-face care when capacity is constrained. This report explores the opportunities, challenges and risks associated with this technological shift, and the practical and policy implications of recent learning.

• Report
• Nuffield Trust - publications

A plan for digital health and social care

Department of Health and Social Care -
This plan for digital health and social care sets out a vision for a digitally enabled health and social care system and how it can be achieved. It collates existing digital strategies, plans and guidance into one single action plan. It is aimed at health and social care leaders across the system, and industry partners, to help them plan for the future. The document aims to outline clear priorities for digital transformation, and begins to set out the support that will be available to local systems to enable the changes that are needed.

• Policy paper
• Department of Health and Social Care - publications

PSNC Pharmacy Advice Audit 2022

Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee - 

This year’s audit finds that more than 1.2 million consultations a week – or 65 million a year – are now being carried out by community pharmacy teams in England. The audit of over 4,000 community pharmacies, carried out earlier this year, recorded 82,872 informal patient consultations, with the average pharmacy completing 19 consultations per day.

• Audit report
• More detail

 

Draft Mental Health Bill 2022

Department of Health and Social Care - 

This draft bill delivers on two government manifesto commitments: to reform the Mental Health Act; and to improve the way that people with a learning disability and autistic people are treated in law. This draft legislation is intended to give effect to the policy approaches outlined in Sir Simon Wessely’s 2018 independent review, Modernising the Mental Health Act. These were subsequently taken forward in the government’s white paper Reforming the Mental Health Act in 2021.

• Draft bill
• More detail

Shared decision making from the perspective of clinicians and healthcare professionals

Patients Association - 

This report finds healthcare professionals are positive about shared decision making — a way of working with patients to decide treatment options. But the report also finds professionals’ ability to practice shared decision making regularly is limited by the current crisis in the NHS. The report makes a number of recommendations and the Patients Association will now look to partner with NHS England, the Personalised Care Institute and other organisations to support professionals' call for more support to practice shared decision making.

• Report
• More detail

Better commissioning for better lives: top tips for commissioners

NHS Confederation -

These top tips for commissioners are based on roundtable discussions between people with learning disabilities and commissioners in March 2022. They are part of a joint call to action from the Mental Health Network, Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities and Mencap to move beyond the years of policies and good intentions to now focus on making equality and inclusion for people with learning disabilities a reality.

• Briefing
• More detail

Building a supportive and empowering first 1,000 days of life

NHS Confederation - 

An innovative community and inpatient mental health partnership in Birmingham works with partners to support long-term emotional and physical wellbeing and resilience among children in the first 1,000 days of life.

• Case study

Improving population health outcomes with integrated data sets

NHS Confederation - 

Using a population health and care management programme and an integrated data set has enabled Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust to strengthen its focus on health inequalities through identifying and targeting patient cohorts by geography, demographic variables and health indicators.

• Case study