Health Management and Policy Alert

Delivering core NHS and care services during the pandemic and beyond: Government response to the Committee’s second report of session 2019–21

House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee -
This report finds that the Covid-19 response has greatly accelerated the use of digital technology, has mainstreamed remote consultations and similar effects are being seen for remote monitoring. There has been greater flexibility and resilience in the workforce, as well as improved decision making and access to information through the better use of data and simplified information governance guidance. It concludes that these changes should be embeded and extended to support the health and care system’s recovery from the pandemic and ongoing resilience.

• Report
• House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee - inquiries

Saving lives, improving mothers’ care: lessons learned to inform maternity care from the UK and Ireland Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths and Morbidity 2016-18

MBRRACE-UK -
This report examines the care received by women who die during or up to a year after pregnancy and covers all pregnancy-associated deaths involving UK women between 2016 and 2018. The results indicate that whilst maternal death is still rare in the UK, there are some important actions identified to prevent women from dying in the future.

• Report
• MBRRACE-UK - publications

Cancer services recovery plan

NHS England - 
One of the most significant impacts of the coronavirus pandemic was a sharp reduction in the number of people coming forward and being referred urgently with suspected cancer and referred from screening programmes. This plan has several aims, including restoring demand at least to pre-pandemic levels and reducing the number of people waiting over 62 days from urgent referral.

• Report
• NHS England - publications

Transformation of urgent and emergency care: models of care and measurement

NHS England -
This report sets out the recommendations from the clinically-led review of NHS access standards for urgent and emergency care.

• Report
• NHS England - publications

Monitoring the Mental Health Act in 2019/20: the Mental Health Act in the Covid-19 pandemic

Care Quality Commission (CQC) - 

Monitoring the Mental Health Act is the CQC's annual report on the use of the Mental Health Act (MHA). It looks at how providers are caring for patients, and whether patients' rights are being protected. This year's annual report puts a specific focus on the impact that the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has had on patients detained under the MHA, and on the services that care for and treat them.

• Report
• More detail

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

Covid-19: supply of ventilators

House of Commons Public Accounts Committee -
This report recognises the achievement and the hard work, collaboration, and commitment of individuals across both the public sector and UK industry. However, it argues that the UK Government lost a month because it was “underprepared and reacted slowly” to the shortage of mechanical ventilators. It concludes that there was no plan in place to source additional critical care equipment needed in the event of an emergency.

• Report
• House of Commons Public Accounts Committee - news

The supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the Covid-19 pandemic

National Audit Office -
This report finds that government was initially reliant on stockpiles of PPE that proved inadequate for the Covid-19 pandemic. It concludes that the government made a huge effort to boost supply, but it has paid very high prices due to unusual market conditions and describes how many front-line workers reported shortages of PPE.

• Report
• National Audit Office - press release

Restoring services: NHS activity tracker November 2020

NHS Providers - 

This briefing highlights detailed examples of the innovations trusts and their staff are developing to improve capacity, respond to unmet demand despite the constraints created by Covid-19, and the need to prepare for additional winter pressures.

• Briefing
• Activity tracker

A critical juncture for public services: lessons from COVID-19

House of Lords Public Services Committee -
This report discusses lessons to be learned from the pandemic and recommends a number of principles to transform public service delivery. It finds that decisions were made much more quickly and concludes that many public service providers and councils developed “remarkable innovations” to meet the Covid-19 challenge. However the Committee raise concerns about public service provision during the pandemic for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people, homeless people, and people with complex needs.

• Report
• House of Lords Public Services Committee - news