Health Management and Policy Alert

Realising our ambition through science: a review of government science capability

Government Office for Science - 

This review, carried out by the Government Office for Science with HM Treasury, looks at the state of science within government. The review makes recommendations for enhancing the use of science to promote government effectiveness and better policy-making. 

• Review
• More detail

Flu vaccination: increasing uptake

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence - 

This quality standard covers increasing the uptake of flu vaccination among people who are eligible. It describes high-quality care in priority areas for improvement. It does not cover uptake of flu vaccination in people aged 65 and over.

• Quality standard

Beyond parity of esteem: achieving parity of resource, access and outcome for mental health in England

British Medical Association - 

Mental health services remain a long way behind most physical health services in terms of their resourcing, patient ability to access care and overall patient outcomes. This report outlines findings about the state of mental health in England and recommendations for improvements. Key findings: under a third of children with mental health problems in England are able to access the care they need; those with a severe mental illness in England on average die 15 to 20 years earlier than the general population; and suicide is the leading cause of death among young people in the UK aged 20-34 years, and for men in the UK aged under 50.

• Report
• More detail

Lack of timely monitoring of patients with glaucoma

Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch - 

This national investigation identified that there is inadequate hospital eye services capacity to meet demand for glaucoma services, and that better, smarter ways of working should be implemented to maximise the current capacity. The report highlights that there are innovative measures implemented by some trusts that have reduced the risk, but this good practice is yet to be implemented more widely.

• Report
• Press release

Hindsight 2020: lessons on setting targets in health and social care

Nuffield Trust - 

After the 2015 general election, the NHS and social care were set a number of targets on where they needed to be by 2020 (Shared delivery plan: 2015 to 2020). Now that year has started, this briefing looks at how they have fared over that time, looking at a sample of key targets. Which have been met, which are being missed, and which by now no longer exist? The briefing then looks at the lessons that need to be learned.

• Briefing
• More detail

The English local government public health reforms: an independent assessment

Local Government Association

This report, commissioned from The King's Fund, assesses the success of the 2013 reforms to public health in England, which were part of the coalition government’s wider health reform programme. These reforms, which saw the responsibility for many aspects of public health move from the NHS to local government, involved the transition of staff and services and required the formation of new relationships to ensure public health was embedded across local government services.

• Report
• More detail

 

Access to child and adolescent mental health services in 2019

Education Policy Institute -
This report examines access to specialist services, waiting times for treatment, and provision for the most vulnerable children in England.
The research is based on new data obtained using freedom of information requests to mental health providers and local authorities over the course of a year. It looks at the proportion of referrals to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) that are rejected, and waiting times to assessment and treatment for accepted referrals. It also describes mental health provision for certain groups of vulnerable young people: those with conduct disorder or difficulties, in contact with the social care system, and those transitioning from CAMHS to adult mental health services.

• Report
• Education Policy Institute - press release

Flu vaccination: increasing uptake

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence -
This quality standard covers increasing the uptake of flu vaccination among people who are eligible. It describes high-quality care in priority areas for improvement. It does not cover uptake of flu vaccination in people aged 65 and over.

• Quality standard

Specialty, associate specialist and locally employed doctors workplace experiences survey: initial findings report

General Medical Council -
This report contains the initial results of a survey of Specialty and Associate Specialist (SAS) and Locally Employed (LE) doctors – the one in six UK doctors who are not GPs, consultants nor in training roles. The survey founds that 30 per cent of SAS doctors and 23 per cent of their LE counterparts had been bullied, undermined or harassed at work in the last year, either by colleagues or by patients and their families.

• Report
• General Medical Council - press release

How to build effective teams in general practice

The King's Fund -
This guide draws on insights from our research, policy analysis and leadership practice to outline ways in which practices can create and sustain effective teams, as they come together to form primary care networks.

• The King's Fund - publications