Health Management and Policy Alert

High intensity users: reducing the burden on accident & emergency departments

Dr Foster - 

Dr Foster carried out a detailed analysis of accident and emergency (A&E) attendances nationally with the aim of uncovering common characteristics of high intensity users (HIUs) - people who attended ten or more times in a twelve-month period - and patterns in HIU attendances to provide valuable insight and a better understanding of the reasons they attend with such high frequency.

• Report
• More detail

Workforce briefing - winter 2018

Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health -
This briefing reveals that patient demand is strongly outstripping the supply of doctors as the usual seasonal increase combined with a rise in children’s emergency admissions is placing unprecedented demand on services. It highlights some of the key findings from the College's Workforce census 2017 and provides recommendations for the future of the paediatric and child health workforce.

• Briefing
• Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health - news

How is the NHS performing? December 2018 quarterly monitoring report

The King's Fund -
Eight out of ten NHS trust finance directors say that funding pressures have led to longer waiting times for people who need mental health treatment, finds our latest quarterly monitoring report. This report once more finds that patients are waiting too long for care and NHS trusts and CCGs remain under tremendous financial pressure. Midway through 2018/19 we are seeing waits for routine and emergency care that have not been seen for a decade, and half of NHS providers are forecasting a financial deficit.

• Report
• The King's Fund - press release

Winter 2018/19 in the NHS: the solutions

Society for Acute Medicine -
This report calls on the government and NHS leaders to “realise urgently” the potential of ambulatory emergency care. It warns that the NHS is “on borrowed time” as winter approaches but says better use of same-day emergency clinics could save at least 14,000 overnight hospital stays.

• Report
• Society for Acute Medicine - news

Understanding the performance and potential of specialist hospitals

UCLPartners - 

This report, produced together with the Innovation Agency, outlines how high-performing specialist trusts have the potential to do more to benefit the wider NHS. A review of around one-third of England’s 21 specialist trusts looked at why they consistently score higher than their counterparts in ratings for performance and satisfaction. The review recommends seven ways in which local systems can benefit more widely from the role of specialist trusts.

• Report
• Press release

Non-urgent attendances to emergency departments are more common among younger adults

National Institute for Health Research - NIHR Signal - 

This NIHR-funded study analysed three years’ worth of data (2011-14) from emergency departments within one large region of England representing rural, urban and suburban areas. It found that adults aged 16 to 44 years are more likely to attend emergency departments for non-urgent presentations than older adults. They were more than three times more likely to present for non-urgent reasons than those over 65 years. Non-urgent attendances are also more common during out-of-hours periods, especially at night.

• NIHR Signal

Steeling ourselves for winter 2018/19

NHS Providers - 

This briefing addresses key questions about the health and care sectors' preparedness for this coming winter compared with last year. These include the operational and financial challenges trusts face following this summer’s heatwave, the support available from the national bodies, and the preparations trusts and their partners are making to meet the needs of their local populations in the coming months.

• Briefing
• Press release

The state of health care and adult social care in England: 2017/18

Care Quality Commission -
This report looks at the trends, shares examples of good and outstanding care, and highlights where care needs to improve. It finds that most people in England receive a good quality of care. Ratings show that quality overall has been largely maintained from last year, and in some cases improved, despite the continuing challenges that providers face. However, it found that it was harder for people to access services in the community in places where services failed to work well together, leading to unnecessary admissions to hospital and putting extra pressure on acute and mental health services. The report also considers the factors that affect the sustainability of good care for people.

• Report
• Care Quality Commission - news

Regulating the duty of candour: requires improvement

Action against Medical Accidents - 

This research shows that the Care Quality Commission (CQC) “requires improvement” in how it regulates the statutory duty of candour. This is despite significant improvements since AvMA’s previous report in 2016.

• Report
• Press release

National mortality case record review: annual report 2018

Royal College of Physicians -
This report reveals that hospitals are using a standardised review approach to learn from adult acute deaths and improve patient care. It cites a number of case studies where the structured judgement review process has made positive contributions to improving healthcare for patients.

• Report
• Royal College of Physicians - news