Patient focus updates - 27 September 2012

New policy, guidance and initiatives from across the UK that focus on the patient perspective and experience. For more information about this theme see Quality and Safety e-Bulletin: Patient focus.

Some of the resources linked to are in PDF format - see how to access PDF files.

ACEVO (Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations): A clinical commissioner’s guide to the voluntary sector (PDF 962KB). This guide, produced in conjunction with NHS Alliance, calls for a revolution in NHS and community links. It sets out practical examples to support closer working between clinical commissioners and third sector organisations. It explores three key areas: QIPP, patient and public involvement and collaborative commissioning.

2020Health: Personal health records - putting people in control? (PDF 2MB). This report is the result of research into the take up of personal health records, which allow patients to manage their own health details. The report revealed that where electronic health records are provided, the service is well liked by patients. However, public perception remains a big barrier to uptake, with many patients unfamiliar or sceptical about the government storing their health records online.
Press release.

BMC Nursing: The meaning and validation of social support networks for close family of persons with advanced cancer. “The study provides knowledge of the antecedents and attributes of social support networks, particularly from the perspective of close family of adult persons with advanced lung or gastrointestinal cancer. There is a need for measurement instruments that could encourage nurses and other health-care professionals to focus on family members' personal networks as a way to strengthen their mental health. There is also a need for further clarification of the meaning of social support versus caring during the whole illness trajectory of cancer from the family members' perspective.”

Care Quality Commission (CQC): Community mental health survey 2012: Key findings. "Participants in the latest survey of community mental health services said they are treated with dignity and respect by the health or social care worker they had seen most recently. However, some would have liked more support in getting help with aspects of day-to-day living".
News: Over 15,000 people give their views of community mental health services.

Children’s Commissioner for England: Silent voices: supporting children and younger people affected by parental alcohol misuse. This is a briefing to disseminate key themes and findings from a review commissioned in the light of growing evidence concerning the impact upon children of living with parental substance misuse. The review involved a literature review and focus groups with children and young adults looking at their current or past experiences of parental alcohol misuse.

DH: New programme to ensure greater local choice of care services. The Department of Health has launched a new programme to help provide more choice and higher quality of care and support services across the country. The Developing Care Markets for Quality and Choice (DCMQC) programme will help local authorities build their capacity to shape a diverse, vibrant and high quality market for social care services. The programme will improve choice, provide tailored care and focus care on the outcomes that matter to people. 

DH: Stoptober campaign kicks off in October. The innovative campaign, Stoptober, which is backed by Cancer Research UK and the British Heart Foundation, provides people signing up with tips and advice. They will also get a daily message if they download the Stoptober app to give them additional support and encouragement throughout the month.

General Medical Council: The state of medical education and practice in the UK report: 2012. The findings of this second annual report which presents a profile of the medical profession over the last year and outlines challenges for the future, show that complaints about doctors have increased by 23 per cent from 7,153 in 2010 to 8,781 in 2011. "The GMC said it was working to better understand what was driving the increase in complaints and the nature of the complaints themselves as well as how to provide greater support for doctors over the course of their career".
Press release.

Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC): Guardianship under the Mental Health Act 1983 - England 2012. This report contains the latest statistics about cases of guardianship under Sections 7 and 37 of the Mental Health Act 1983 in England. The number of new Guardianship cases fell by five per cent between 2010/11 and 2011/12 from 347 to 331 cases. This is a much smaller reduction than between the previous two reporting years, which saw a notable fall of 21 per cent, possibly attributable to the introduction of new Mental Capacity Act Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and Community Treatment Order legislation. 
News: Mental Health: Guardianship cases continue to fall in England.  

In Control: Supporting the North West on personal budgets. In Control has been working with other bodies to support North West councils in the implementation of personal budgets. This report based on a survey of the councils discusses issues around the main challenges identified: the process of getting and managing a personal budget; how personal budgets are managed; workforce needs. The report highlights good practice taking place and makes recommendations for improvement for individual councils and for the region as a whole.
In Control: Personal Health Budgets for Continuing Healthcare. This highlights the 10 features of an effective process for personal health budgets for continuing healthcare. 

Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Open School: Shared decision making. A two part interview with Victor Montori, a Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, which looks at shared decision making and how it can potentially change health care, and how to use some innovative tools with chronic care patients.

International Council of Nurses (ICN): 29 September 2012: World Heart Day. This year the theme for World Heart Day is cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention among women and children. ICN signpost their relevant resources.

INVOLVE: INVOLVE newsletter Summer 2012. Their latest newsletter includes the VIPER Project; international collaboration on participatory health research and developing training and support for public involvement in research.

ISD Scotland: NHS Complaints Statistics Scotland 2011/12 (PDF 150.2KB). There was a 15 per cent rise in Hospital and Community complaints received with 8,117 in 2011/12 compared to 7,055 in 2010/11. This is the largest increase since the revision of the complaints procedure in April 2005.

National Institute for Health Research: Understanding and improving transitions of older people: a user and carer centred approach. This project focuses on older people and their transition between different services and agencies in health and social care. Research studies and reports from inspectors have shown that older people experience many problems before, during and after transitions. It presents the findings from in-depth interviews with 75 older people about their experiences of transitions in health and social care services. Funded by the NHS Service Delivery and Organisation R&D Programme (now the Health Services and Delivery Research Programme), the research focused on the experiences of more marginalised groups including older people with dementia and older people from black and minority ethnic communities.

Scottish Government: Charter of Patient Rights and Responsibilities for people who use the NHS in Scotland – consultation report. Provides details of the findings of the consultation on the Charter and action taken as a result of the consultation. A complete review of the content of the Charter has been undertaken and where it was considered appropriate revisions have been made to reflect the views expressed in the responses received.

Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE): Find me good care. SCIE is developing a website that will help people to make choices about care and support - findmegoodcare.co.uk will cover all types of care and support for adults including regulated and unregulated services in England. It will provide links to specialist websites (including local services, specialist and independent financial advisers). The site will be free for everyone and is being developed in consultation with care providers, local authorities and people who use care services and carers.  
SCIE also want to hear about people’s experience of looking for care and support for themselves or others. What made it difficult and what helped.