Health Management and Policy Alert

Sexual and reproductive health competency framework for nurses caring for women in prison

Royal College of Nursing - 

This competencies framework has been developed for nurses, midwives, and those supporting nursing teams, who provide sexual and reproductive health care to women in prison. It takes account of nursing teams who may have limited experience caring for pregnant women.

• Framework
• More detail

Time to care: findings from a nationally representative survey of experiences at the end of life in England and Wales

Marie Curie - 

This report sets out the findings from a national post-bereavement survey, the QUALYCARE survey, conducted
in 2023 across England and Wales. The aim was to describe the outcomes, experiences, and use of care services by people affected by dying, death, and bereavement in England and Wales. The report reveals that in England and Wales one in three dying people were severely or overwhelmingly affected by pain in the last week of life, with bereaved people reporting how difficult it was to get joined-up support from health and care professionals at home.

• Report
• Press release

Transfers of care toolkit

Professional Record Standards Body -
High volumes of patients are transferred every day between health and care settings. This toolkit concentrates on the PRSB eDischarge Summary Standard, which specifies the data to be shared between secondary and primary care to support the discharge of a patient from hospitals across the UK. It does not propose a one-size-fits-all approach and recognises that health and care services are organised in different ways across the UK.

• Toolkit

 

Collaborate to innovate: learning from NHS, charity and life sciences industry experience to build a culture of research and innovation in the UK

NHS Confederation - 

In recent years the UK has fallen behind in research, which means the NHS, healthcare professionals and the UK population risk reduced access to new treatments, diagnostics and state-of-the-art care. Although signs of recovery are starting to emerge, combining the resources and expertise of NHS, charity and life science industry partners is essential for changing this trajectory. This report, based on a roundtable discussion between the NHS Confederation, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (APBI) and health charity leaders, explores practical ways to boost UK research and engender a culture of innovation.

• Report
• More detail

Independent review of gender identity services for children and young people

The Cass Review -
Lead by Dr Hilary Cass, this independent review was commissioned by NHS England to make recommendations on how to improve NHS gender identity services and ensure that children and young people who are questioning their gender identity or experiencing gender dysphoria receive a high standard of care, that meets their needs. The report describes what is known about the young people who are seeking NHS support around their gender identity and sets out the recommended clinical approach to care and support they should expect, the interventions that should be available, and how services should be organised across the country.

• Report
• The Cass Review - publications

1,000 voices not 1: a report highlighting differences in cancer care in the UK

Bristol Myers Squibb - 

To form the foundations of the Cancer Equals campaign (which aims to understand and help address the many factors leading to delays to diagnosis and differences in experiences of cancer across the UK) Bristol Myers Squibb carried out quantitative and qualitative research in partnership with Shine Cancer Support. This research report highlights some of the challenges that people living with cancer are facing and the inequalities that exist in how cancer is experienced across the UK. 

• Report
• More detail

Reimagining rehabilitation for adults with brain tumours: a roadmap

Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission - 

Developed in collaboration with health communications agency Costello Medical, this report sets out a roadmap of actionable and impactful recommendations that aim to improve rehabilitation for patients with brain tumours. Key recommendations were to: build the evidence base that quantifies patient need for rehabilitation by providing funding/infrastructure for allied health professional-led research; develop clinical consensus recommendations on rehabilitation to inform guidelines for adults with brain tumours; and raise awareness of the benefits of rehabilitation for adults with brain tumours among all stakeholder groups.

• Report

England Rare Diseases Action Plan 2024: main report

Department of Health and Social Care - 
This action plan sets out how the Department of Health and Social Care and delivery partners will implement the UK Rare Diseases Framework in England. The framework was published in January 2021, setting out a shared vision for addressing health inequalities and improving the lives of people living with rare diseases across the UK. It outlined 4 key national priorities: helping patients get a final diagnosis faster; increasing awareness among healthcare professionals; better co-ordination of care; and improving access to specialist care, treatment and drugs. This report details progress against 29 existing actions as well as introducing 7 new actions.

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

FRAIL strategy: a strategy for the development and/or improvement of acute frailty same day emergency care services

NHS England - 

The FRAIL strategy supports wider healthcare systems to deliver and improve acute frailty services across England by setting out a practical approach. This will mean more older people living with frailty can be safely discharged on the same day they arrive, avoiding admission overnight.

• Access the strategy
• More detail

 

The Hughes report: options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh

Patient Safety Commissioner - 

This report finds that thousands of women, children, and families have been harmed by these two medical interventions — valproate and pelvic mesh — and that there is a compelling case for the government to award them redress. The report recommends the government creates a two-stage financial redress scheme — an interim scheme to enable the identification of all those harmed ensuring patients receive financial redress quickly and a main scheme.

• Report
• More detail