Quality and safety news - 7 March 2013

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

News highlights are:

Alzheimer's Society: Low expectations: attitudes on choice, care and community for people with dementia in care homes. This report updates and builds on the Home from home report, published in 2008. Findings show that up to 80% of care home residents have dementia or severe memory problems; while excellent quality care does exist, pessimism about life in care homes is leading to people settling for less; 70% of the general public would be worried about going into a care home and two thirds (64%) don't think the sector is doing enough to tackle abuse. It calls on the government and care homes to demand better minimum standards and more effective regulation.
Press release: Care homes campaign.
News. Record numbers of people with dementia in care homes. 
Putting care right campaign
RCN: RCN responds to Alzheimer’s Society report on care homes.

BBC England: Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust board members quit. Two non-executive directors have resigned from the board of a health trust following a decision that it is to be put into administration.

BBC: UK 'fares badly in European health league table'. “The UK is lagging behind progress by similar countries on many indicators for ill-health, research suggests. Health data over 20 years was compared with figures from 18 other countries in the research published in the Lancet”.

BBC Health: NHS competition rules to be changed. The government has agreed to re-write controversial rules on contracting out in the NHS in England.
RCN: Government backtracks on competition. The RCN has welcomed the announcement by Health Minister, Norman Lamb MP, that the section 75 regulations to the Health and Social Care Act will be withdrawn and amended.

Cabinet Office and HM Treasury: New world leading evidence centres to drive better decisions across £200bn of public services. National government and local public services will benefit from access to a world leading network of centres providing robust, comprehensive evidence to guide decision making on £200bn of public spending. The What Works Network, a key action in the Civil Service reform plan, will consist of two existing centres of excellence – the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the Educational Endowment Foundation – plus four new independent institutions responsible for gathering, assessing and sharing the most robust evidence to inform policy and service delivery in tackling crime, promoting active and independent ageing, effective early intervention, and fostering local economic growth.
Policy paper: What Works: evidence centres for social policy. This paper outlines the background to the centres and how they are being established.

DH: Chief Nursing Officer Bulletin February 2013. This edition includes NHS leaders encouraged to hold staff listening events following Mid Staffs report; innovation for the NHS nation: building a culture of compassionate care; Malnutrition Task Force and working with nursing partners.

DH: NHS charges from April 2013 announced. The NHS prescription charge in England will increase by 20p from £7.65 to £7.85 for each quantity of a drug or appliance from 1 April 2013.

Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS): New resuscitation strategy vital to saving lives. In a written statement, the Minister updated the Assembly on his plans to maximise the number of people trained in Emergency Life Support (ELS) through developing the Community Resuscitation Strategy for Northern Ireland.

DHSSPS: Collaboration is key to tackling rare diseases. Speaking at a conference Health Minister Edwin Poots said he expects a UK Plan for Rare Diseases to be published before the end of 2013. He suggested that accessibility of services in terms of distance combined with the high standard of transport links could mean it may be preferable to develop clinical networks with the Republic as well as Great Britain to support sustainable service models for those who suffer from rare diseases in Northern Ireland.

DHSSPS: Leadership and transparency are vital in driving change. Health Minister Edwin Poots has re-stated his determination to address the challenges faced in transforming our health service. He highlighted the importance of the public accountability of health and social care services and will meet with a number of organisations yearly to take part in public accountability meetings. He also highlighted the need to prevent unnecessary hospital visits and help to ensure that patients are cared for closer to home. "It is this ‘without walls’ approach which will need to characterise so much of our approach to the future of health and social care services.”

Diabetes UK: Diabetes prevalence 2012 (March 2013). The number of people in the UK who have been diagnosed with diabetes has reached three million for the first time, equivalent to 4.6 per cent of the UK’s population, according to new analysis carried out by Diabetes UK and Tesco.
BBC Health: Three million people diagnosed with diabetes.

Express: NHS starves 1,165 to death. At least 1,165 people have starved to death in NHS hospitals over the past four years. “Figures show that for every patient who dies of malnutrition about four more have dehydration mentioned on their death certificate". The Office for National Statistics, which released the figures under Freedom of Information laws, said it was not possible to determine how far hospitals were to blame for patients starving or becoming dehydrated because some had underlying conditions that made it difficult to eat or drink”.

Guardian: Firm behind Winterbourne View care home goes into administration. Following the 2011 abuse scandal, Castlebeck has failed to find a buyer for the rest of its damaged business
RCN: Residents must not be affected by Castlebeck administration. Residents in Castlebeck homes must not be negatively affected by the news that the care home provider has gone into administration, the RCN has said. RCN Chief Executive & General Secretary Dr Peter Carter said that every effort must be made to retain skilled staff.

King’s Fund: The Francis Inquiry. Catch up with highlights from the King’s Fund Francis Inquiry conference, including the keynote address from Robert Francis QC and the government's response from Dan Poulter MP.

National End of Life Care Programme (NEoLCP): Nine out of 10 palliative care experts would choose Liverpool Care Pathway for themselves. The results of an online survey, published by BMJ and Channel 4's Dispatches programme, found that the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) represents best practice for the care of dying patients, according to 89% of UK palliative medicine consultants.
BMJ News [You can access this via a subscription to BMJ].

Mail Online: Nurses at top children's hospital left suicidal by stress and fainting from exhaustion in theatre. In a report leaked to The Mail on Sunday after the hospital was forced to release it under Freedom of Information laws reveals that "an internal inquiry at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool found staff had fainted in operating theatres or been ‘physically and mentally’ unable to perform procedures because of long hours and a ‘culture of fear and bullying’ by management".

NHS Commissioning Board (NHS CB): Help to shape the national strategy for equality, health inequalities and human rights – have your say. Working as part of the NHS Equality and Diversity Council (EDC), the NHS CB is inviting a wide range of views to inform the development of the national strategy to promote equality and reduce health inequalities. The strategy will set out a clear approach, reflective of the values of the NHS Constitution, for promoting equality and reducing health inequalities for all groups across the life course. Professor Steve Field, deputy medical director with responsibility for health inequalities, and Paula Vasco-Knight, national equality lead, will lead this work. The survey will close 31 March 2013. A webinar to discuss putting the patient and public voice at the heart of the strategy is to be held on 12 March 2013.

NHS CB: NHS Commissioning Board appoints new Director of Patient Experience. Neil Churchill has been appointed as the Director of Patient Experience. At present, Neil is the Chief Executive of Asthma UK and is a Non-Executive Director in NHS South of England. He has over 25 years’ experience of working in the voluntary sector at organisations like Barnardo’s, Age Concern and Crisis, and a member of the Richmond Group of major health charities.

NHS CB: NHS Commissioning Board discusses actions for the future with Robert Francis. At its Board meeting held on 28 February 2013 the NHS Commissioning Board met with Robert Francis to discuss his public inquiry report into Mid Staffordshire and the vital changes that need to be made within the NHS. "In his contribution, Robert Francis made clear the need to have enforceable contractual arrangements with providers around clear standards, with effective monitoring. In addition, he called for honest and open conversations with the public about what can be afforded and how".

NHS CB: National Advisory Group members announced. Professor Sir Bruce Keogh today announced the members of the National Advisory Group which will guide his review into 14 hospitals which have had higher than expected mortality rates. The group will guide the overall review process and advise on how to ensure a robust and consistent approach is taken to conducting the individual investigations.

RCN: NHS Change Day: get involved. The RCN is encouraging members to get involved with NHS Change Day on 13 March. NHS Change Day aims to create a mass movement of people UK-wide, working in the NHS and outside of it, demonstrating the difference they can make with one simple action or new idea. The aim is for 65,000 people to take part on a national scale, 65 being the number of years the NHS has been in existence.
Sign up to NHS Change Day and make your pledge.

RCN: RCN staff need support to raise concerns. The RCN has said there needs to be greater transparency so nursing staff feel supported when raising concerns.The comments come as a Nursing Times survey found that half of respondents who had raised concerns about the NHS felt they were ignored.

Scottish Government: Emergency care plans. The most significant ever programme of change to emergency and urgent health care services is set to take place. Over £50 million will be invested over the next three years to transform services for patients across Scotland. "Health boards will increase the number of frontline staff and introduce more flexible hours, develop projects that offer options to be treated at home and offer separate facilities for minor injuries beside or close to the Emergency Department".