Quality and safety news - 18 April 2013

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

News highlights are:

Alzheimer’s Society: Dementia 2013: the hidden voice of loneliness. This second annual report on how well people with dementia are living found that over half of the general public believe that people with dementia have a bad quality of life. This was echoed in the feedback from people with dementia with 70 per cent saying they had stopped doing things they used to do because of lack of confidence. The majority of people with dementia also felt anxious or depressed, and a third of people said they’d lost friends after a diagnosis. It calls on commissioners to ensure appropriate support services are available, and urges people and organisations to play their part in helping ensure their communities are dementia friendly.

BBC Health: NHS regulator wants 'swift change'. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is promising 'swift change' as it attempts to relaunch itself amid criticism of its performance. The health and care regulator has been under fire with critics saying it has lost sight of safety. Ministers have already announced the creation of a new hospitals chief inspector post and a ratings system.

Care Quality Commision (CQC): Raising standards, putting people first. Our strategy for 2013 to 2016. The CQC is making radical changes to the way they inspect and regulate health and social care services to make sure they provide people with safe, effective, compassionate and high-quality care, and to encourage them to make improvements. These changes will come into effect in NHS hospitals and mental health trusts first.

Guardian: Mid Staffs NHS Trust put into administration. The trust which runs Stafford Hospital is to be put into administration by the health regulator Monitor. Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust will be run by two specially appointed administrators to "safeguard the future of health services" currently provided. Dr Hugo Mascie-Taylor and Alan Bloom of Ernst and Young will take over the running of the trust on Tuesday. It will become the first foundation trust to go into administration.
RCN: RCN expresses support tor Stafford staff.

NHS England: Placing patients at the heart of the business plan to improve care and access for all. NHS England has published a plan confirming their commitment to putting patients at the heart of improving care now and for future generations. Putting Patients First: the NHS England business plan for 2013/14 – 2015/16 is a three year plan that will measure how health and care services are performing with a strong emphasis on making sure feedback from patients, their families and NHS staff is heard and acted upon. The plan includes an 11-point scorecard, which NHS England will introduce for measuring performance of key priorities, including feedback from patients, their families and NHS staff. This supports the recommendations made by Robert Francis QC to drive forward improvements by putting patients at the heart of the NHS.

NHS Improving Quality: Our strategic intent (PDF 872KB). From 1 April 2013, NHS Improving Quality (NHS IQ), as part of NHS England, will be the driving force for improvement across the NHS. This document sets out how NHS IQ will provide improvement and change expertise to support the health outcomes for people across the NHS in England.

NHS England: NHS News, Issue 2. NHS England has published a new bulletin ‘NHS news’.