Health Management and Policy Alert

A people plan for social care: white paper, March 2023 - a call to action

Institute of Health & Social Care Management -
This plan examines, through the voices of people living and working in social care, the current landscape including shortcomings and also outstanding practices. It looks at various subjects such as the mental health and wellbeing of people using care, policy and regulation, and equality, diversity and inclusion. It makes a series of recommendations with the aim of improving social care.

• Report
• Institute of Health & Social Care Management - publications

Public health annual report 2023: supporting communities in difficult times

Local Government Association -
This report reflects on the last year and focusses on how councils have responded to the rising cost of living. It also discusses a year of uncertainty about the direction of public health policy and how the approach to tackling health inequalities has blunted optimism. Despite these pressures, this report demonstrates that councils, the NHS and the voluntary and community sector have responded positively to the challenges and that, building on the experience of the pandemic, public health is at the forefront of each local response.

• Local Government Association - publications

Stressed and overworked: what the Commonwealth Fund’s 2022 International Health Policy Survey of Primary Care Physicians in 10 Countries means for the UK

The Health Foundation - 
This analysis finds that UK GPs experience the highest stress and lowest job satisfaction compared to GPs in nine other high-income countries. The report analyses data from an international survey of 9,526 GPs in ten high-income countries, including 1,010 in the UK, carried out by The Commonwealth Fund. It finds that the majority of GPs in all countries are dealing with higher workloads than before the pandemic. UK GPs report higher levels of emotional distress and bigger rises in workload than GPs in nearly all other countries, with many considering leaving the profession altogether. 71 per cent of UK GPs find their job ‘extremely’ or ‘very stressful’, the highest of the ten countries surveyed.

• Report
• The Health Foundation - press release

Exploring adult social care funding and delayed discharge

NHS Confederation - 

This briefing sets out detail and commentary on the funding announced for adult social care in the 2022 Autumn Statement. It does so in the important context of delayed discharge, offering joint Local Government Association and NHS Confederation illustrative thinking on the kind of actions that could be taken to help address immediate pressures in hospitals.

• Briefing

Health care funding: three key questions about funding in England

Health Foundation - 

This analysis from the Health Foundation’s REAL Centre explores the latest health care funding figures for England, including how much funding has been committed, how it compares to historical levels and how it stacks up against what is needed to meet current pressures facing health services. The analysis is based on the March 2023 OBR economic forecast and Treasury figures on spending plans from 15 March 2023 (the Spring Budget 2023).

• Analysis

Public health annual report 2023: supporting communities in difficult times

Local Government Association (LGA) - 

The LGA's eleventh annual public health report (jointly published with the Association of Directors of Public Health) reflects on the last year and focusses on how councils have responded to the rising cost of living.

• Annual report
• Press release

Reducing waiting lists by repurposing a Nightingale hospital into a protected elective centre

NHS Confederation - 

Waiting lists for some procedures in Devon have been cut by converting a Nightingale hospital into a protected elective centre delivering additional orthopaedic, ophthalmology and diagnostic activity. Cooperation between clinicians from different trusts has resulted in innovative ways of working. The Devon integrated care system has worked with local trusts – principally the Royal Devon University Health Foundation Trust but also Torbay and South Devon Foundation Trust and University Hospitals Plymouth Trust – to deliver the extra capacity.

• Case study

Training the future GP: enhancing delivery of GP specialty training

Health Education England - 

This report outlines ways to reform the delivery of education to GP trainees, better preparing them for future practice in different models of care - addressing health inequalities, improving technology and enhancing areas of clinical care such as mental health. The report details opportunities to move to a more flexible model of training that meets the needs, skills and experiences of the trainee, as well as the demands and nuances of local populations. It is based on extensive engagement with key national stakeholders, patients, doctors in training and educators, along with the results of a number of regional pilot programmes.

• Report
• More detail

Patient experience winter survey: March 2023

Patients Association - 

The latest Patients Association survey of patients’ experiences of healthcare shows that when patients are with a healthcare professional their experiences were generally positive. But it also shows many respondents struggled to access the healthcare they needed in the previous six months.

• Report
• More detail

McCloud remedy part 2: proposed changes to NHS Pension Schemes Regulations 2023

Department of Health and Social Care - 
The Department of Health and Social Care is consulting on a draft Statutory Instrument making changes to NHS Pension Schemes Regulations necessary to implement the second part of the McCloud remedy. The remedy has two parts: to ensure equal treatment for all members within each of the main public service pension schemes by moving all members into the new schemes; and to remove the effect of transitional protection by offering eligible members a choice over the set of benefits. The closing date for comments is 6 June 2023.

• Consultation
• Consultation response form
• Department of Health and Social Care - consultations