Quality and safety news - 2 May 2013

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

News highlights are:

DH: Multi-million pound boost for NHS stem cell services. Public Health Minister Anna Soubry has announced an extra £4million investment in NHS stem cell services.

DH: Developing new standards for social care. The deadline for this consultation has been extended to 03 May 2013. It asks for ideas to help decide on future topics for National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance and standards.

Guardian: The NHS and the Section 75 regulations: where next? Despite near universal professional opposition and strong political pressure, the Section 75 regulations that explicitly open up the NHS to competition law were approved in the House of Lords last week. What can opponents do now that the regulations have been approved?

Multiple Sclerosis Society: A lottery of treatmenr and care. MS services across the UK. The report has been published to mark the start of MS Week. It uncovers disparities across the UK in access to MS medicines, social care support, employment support and health professionals for people with MS. The findings are based on a survey issued last year asking people with MS what services they needed and to what extent those needs had been met over the previous 12 months. More than 10,500 adults responded to the survey. The Society is also launching the Stop the MS lottery campaign calling for everyone with MS to have fair access to the treatments and services they need, when they need them, wherever they live in the UK.

NHS England: Clinicians and patients to begin review visits at mortality outlier hospitals. Experienced teams of doctors, nurses and patient representatives are set to make their first visits to hospitals as part of the Keogh review. Led by regional medical and nursing directors of NHS England, review teams will visit the 14 trusts whose mortality ratios have shown higher-than-expected rates for the past two years.

NHS England: NHS News – Issue 4, 25 April 2013. Topics include measles vaccination, Keogh review visits, and the Review of Children's Congenital Cardiac Surgery Service at Leeds.

Nuffield Trust: The new structure of the NHS in England. The coalition Government’s NHS reforms went live on 1 April 2013. Access these resources which aim to explain the changes and provide new analysis: download a slideshow describing the structure of the ‘new’ NHS; view an updated interactive timeline showing the history of NHS reform; and watch a video interview with Andy McKeon, discussing the lessons he learnt in his time at the Audit Commission.

Public Health England: Public Health England priorities. Public Health England (PHE), the nation’s expert public health body, has set out its direction for the next year. The priorities encompass the organisation’s broad remit, ranging from protecting and improving the nation’s health to building the public health system and increasing its own expertise. PHE has five high-level priorities: helping people to live longer and more healthy lives by reducing preventable deaths and the burden of ill health; reducing the burden of disease and disability in life by focusing on preventing and recovering from the conditions with the greatest impact; protecting the country from infectious diseases and environmental hazards; supporting families to give children and young people the best start in life; and improving health in the workplace To underpin these outcome-focused priorities PHE will: promote the development of place-based public health systems and develop its own capacity and capability to provide professional, scientific and delivery expertise to its partners.