Quality and safety news - 21 February 2013

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

New highlights are:

BBC Health: NHS North West London A&E units downgraded. Four London hospitals Accident and Emergency (A&E) units are to be downgraded. The move affects Charing Cross, Central Middlesex, Hammersmith and Ealing hospitals. More serious emergencies will instead be referred to A&Es at Hillingdon, Northwick Park, West Middlesex, Chelsea and Westminster or St Mary's hospitals. The decision was confirmed at a joint committee of Primary Care Trusts in Westminster. 

BBC Health: Stirling University to lead UK's largest patient care study. The University of Stirling is to lead the UK's largest ever study into patient experiences and the delivery of frontline health care. About 6000 patients and almost 1000 nurses and health professionals will take part in the Improving Patient Experience of Care (IPEC) project. The two year study will also involve academics from Dundee and Glasgow Caledonian universities.

DH: Better health outcomes for children and young people: Our pledge (PDF 1.04MB). A new pledge about making improvements to the health of children and young people has been launched by the government. The pledge is part of the government’s response to the Children and Young People’s Health Outcomes Forum. The Department of Health is asking organisations who have the power to make a difference to sign up alongside the government and do everything they can to improve the care that children and young people receive and reduce avoidable deaths. The RCN is one of the organisations that have signed up to the pledge.
DH: New national pledge to improve children’s health and reduce child deaths.
Guardian: Ministers pledge to reduce child mortality. UK figures are now “among the worst in Europe as regional variations in quality of care for young people are branded 'unacceptable'.”

DH: Caring for our future: reforming care and support. The Government has announced new measures for funding care to ensure that the elderly and those with disabilities get the care they need without facing unlimited costs. The new measures are based on the recommendations made in 2011 by the Dilnot Commission, an independent panel set up to look at the fairest and most sustainable way to fund care and support in England.  
DH: New funding reforms announced for care and support.
RCN: Social care plans leave many facing hard choices. The Royal College of Nursing has said that the Government’s plans for adult social care would still leave many people facing tough decisions over how to pay for their care. 
Nuffield Trust blog: Principles matter: reforming social care funding.

DH: Patients to get better care from healthcare assistants. A new independent review which will look at how the training and support of healthcare and care assistants can be strengthened so they give better care to patient has been announced by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt. The review will be led by Times journalist Camilla Cavendish who will report back to Government at the end of May. It will look at how healthcare assistants can have the training and support they need to provide essential services to the highest standards, and how recruitment can be strengthened to place the right people, with the right values and behaviours, in the right settings.
RCN: HCA regulation and improved training is essential for HCAs. “The RCN has worked closely with organisations such as Skills for Health and Skills for Care to set out training standards that are needed; but without mandatory regulation to support this, there is a danger that those staff who are found to be unsuitable could move from one employer to another unchecked. We believe that Francis' recommendation on HCA regulation must be implemented if care is to be safe and of a consistently high standard."

DH: Public Health England’s organisational structure and National Executive. Public Health England has finalised its organisational structure in advance of taking on its full range of responsibilities on 1 April.  Appointments to the PHE National Executive have also now been completed.
Organisational structure (PDF 123KB).

DH: DH website to move to GOV.UK in March 2013. GOV.UK is the new single website for UK Government. In October 2012 it brought together government information and guidance from Directgov and Business Link into one place and it will also replace all UK central government department websites.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland: Medicines strategy 2012-2015. The medicines strategy outlines how they will achieve their key aim in supporting the patient to get the best possible care in relation to medicines. Healthcare Improvement Scotland aim to become a key player in NHSScotland in the evidence, improvement and scrutiny of medicines.

National Commissioning Board (NHS NCB): Sir Bruce Keogh announces final list of outliers. The final list of hospitals that will be looked at as part of the investigation into hospitals that are persistent outliers on mortality indicators has been announced.  
RCN: Job cuts planned in trusts under investigation. Trusts at the centre of mortality rate investigations have earmarked thousands of jobs to be cut, the Royal College of Nursing has revealed.

National Leadership and Innovation Agency (NLIAH): NLIAH functions to transfer to NHS Wales and Welsh Government. A review has been undertaken in Wales of the National Leadership and Innovation Agency for Healthcare (NLIAH), the Delivery and Support Unit (DSU), the Clinical Governance Support and Development Unit (CGSDU), the National Patient Safety Agency (Wales) and the Centre for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR) with the aim of simplifying, aligning and streamlining functions and accountabilities. As from 1 April 2013, the functions and staff of NLIAH will transfer to the Welsh Government, the Public Health Wales NHS Trust and the Shared Services Partnership.

NHS Change Day – Do something better together. Inspired and led by a group of young and emerging clinical and managerial leaders in the NHS, NHS Change Day which is on 13 March 2013, aims to be the single largest improvement event in the NHS to date. The idea of Change Day is that between now and the 13th, frontline NHS staff, patients and supporters all have the opportunity to publicly pledge to do something, on that day, to bring about positive change and make things better. To get involved in the NHS Change Day you need to register and log-in. Once you have done this you will be able to pledge, join a pledge, contribute to the chat room discussions and leave comments. "Pledges can be anything from the smallest act to the largest commitment". Information has been put together about the day for different groups and contexts.

Sustainable Development Unit: Sustainable development strategy consultation. The Sustainable Development Unit has launched a consultation and engagement exercise to develop a sustainable development strategy for the NHS, public health and social care system to 2020. The consultation marks a joint approach by the NHS Commissioning Board and Public Health England to sustainable development and will be reflected in a joint programme of work. The consultation seeks to capture the thoughts of the entire health system including NHS, Public Health, Local Authorities, Health and Wellbeing Boards and Clinical Commissioning Groups. The responses will help shape the scope and ambitions for a sustainable health service to 2020. The consultation closes on 31 May 2013.