Chief Executive Bulletin
8 - 14 June 2001
Issue 70
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Chief Executive Bulletin
8 - 14 June 2001 |
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Hard copy versions of these publications can be ordered from the NHS Responseline 08701 555 455. Contents: NHS interest
3. Invest to Save Budget: Round 4 - Bidding Guidance 7. Electronic Booking Systems - Outline Business Case 8. Guidance
Issued by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) NHS / Social Care interest 10. ONS Survey of the Development and Wellbeing of Children Looked After by Local Authorities 13. The New Promoting Independence Grant, 2001-02 14.
SAFETY NOTICE - MDA SN2001(16): Rollators: Risk of Collapse and other
Issues Social Care interest 15. Personal Social Services staffing at 30 September 2000NHS interest This letter indicates a range of data quality measures which are being put in place and require action as a key part of a drive for better performance information to support performance improvement. These measures are being taken forward jointly by the Department of Health, Audit Commission and the Commission for Health Improvement, during 2001/02. Data quality and ways of improving are also be a key feature in the current consultation on performance indicators. Available on the Internet at www.doh.gov.uk/improvingdataquality Back to Top2. Draft Consent Form The Department's "Good practice in consent" Advisory Group has been assisting with the development of a new standard consent form, for use where written consent is appropriate. A consultation draft is now on the internet at www.doh.gov.uk/consent, and you are asked to draw this to the attention of appropriate colleagues. Comments on the form should be emailed to consent@doh.gsi.gov.uk by 20 July. 3. Invest to Save Budget: Round 4 - Bidding Guidance HM Treasury has launched the bidding process for the Invest to Save Budget (ISB): Round 4. The ISB is designed to help develop projects which bring together two or more public service bodies to deliver services in an innovative and more efficient fashion. Guidance is available on the DH website at www.doh.gov.uk/isb.htm. Bids are invited from Central Government departments and their Agencies; Public corporations; Health authorities; Fire authorities; Police authorities; and, Local authorities covered by Part IV of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. Project bids related to health or personal social services will require the support from the Department of Health. In Round 3, the Department of Health secured a total of £5 million to fund 21 projects across health services. Those seeking support from the Department of Health should send their expressions of interest by email at: Ashley.Moore@doh.gsi.gov.uk no later than 29 June 2001. If you require further information please telephone 0113 254 5499. 4. Conditions of Service for General and Senior Managers employed by Health Authorities and NHS Trusts - Early termination of fixed term rolling contracts, HSC 1999/140 & HSC 1999/138 A 'Dear Colleague' letter was sent on 27th November 2000 to inform you about advice from the Department of Health's solicitors on the effect of a Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) case - Cerberus Software Ltd v Rowley - upon the above-mentioned Health Service Circulars. The Court of Appeal has recently overturned the Cerberus decision and therefore the advice given to you in the 'Dear Colleague' letter is now cancelled. There is still a duty on the part of employees to mitigate their compensation payments, and accordingly, it is permissible for an employer to allow for mitigation when calculating the employee's compensation payments. Health Authorities and NHS trusts can continue to use the guidance in the existing HSCs in their entirety. However, as the HSCs were issued in 1999, the guidance is to be implemented with the help of existing (ie current) guidance on tax and superannuation. If you have any queries, please email meena.paterson@doh.gsi.gov.uk or telephone 0113 2545758 5. Publication of Commission for Health Improvement report: Employing Locum Consultants: Matters Arising from the Employment of Dr Elwood The Commission for Health Improvement (CHI) investigated the use of locum medical practitioners by four NHS Trusts, with particular reference to Dr J S Elwood, a locum consultant histopathologist. The report, published on 3 May, highlights inadequacies in local procedures for recruiting, appointing and monitoring locum doctors, particularly those over retirement age, and a failure to comply with Department of Health guidance on the employment of locums. The report, which has been welcomed by the Department, urges that the lessons learnt by the four Trusts involved in this case are taken on board by the NHS as a whole and that its recommendations should be put into practice as a priority. CHI's report can be downloaded from www.chi.nhs.uk/eng/report/index.shtml#inv, or you can request a copy by emailing information@chi.nhs.uk or calling 020 7448 9200. Optimum utilisation of operating theatres is critical to achieving the waiting times and booked admissions targets set out in the NHS Plan. The NHS Modernisation Agency (National Patients' Access Team) has therefore set up a Theatre Project to develop best practice in operating theatres and spread this throughout the NHS. The Project will use proven redesign techniques to test best practice in nine pilot sites. Our goals are to improve the patient & carer experience, improve employee satisfaction, optimise theatre utilisation and reduce cancelled operations. In June 2002, the Project will produce a "steps guide" to best practice and improving performance in operating theatres. The guide will include tools to measure patient and carer experience, employee satisfaction and theatre utilisation. Our aim is for all NHS Trusts to begin using best practice by the end of December 2002. If you require more information about the Theatre Project please contact Jill Copeland, National Programme Director, on 07909 991 950 or email jill.copeland@freeuk.com 7. Electronic Booking Systems - Outline Business Case Work has begun to develop an Outline Business Case (OBC) for electronic booking systems. The OBC will develop the options outlined in the Strategic Outline Case. As part of the process of ensuring comprehensive input from all stakeholders as we develop the OBC we are holding two Advisory Group meetings. Attendees will be able to consider the emerging proposals for implementing booked admissions systems and comment on the appropriateness or otherwise of the options. Further details - www.doh.gov.uk/nhsplanbookingsystems 8. Guidance Issued by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). On the 12th July NICE issued guidance to the NHS on the appropriate use of 4 chemotherapy drugs for lung cancer and a clinical guideline on the Induction of Labour. Where appropriate Chief Executives should ensure that NICE guidance informs local decisions on the provision of services in these areas. Full details at: Ref. 24006 Lung Cancer, 24010 Induction of Labour. NHS / Social Care interest The Health and Social Care Act 2001 received Royal Assent on 11 May. Section 49 removes local authorities' responsibilities for providing nursing care by a registered nurse in nursing homes. Although commencement orders have not yet been made, the Government signalled its intention during the debates in the House to introduce free NHS nursing care for those funding their nursing care from their own resources from October this year. To assist with the allocation of NHS funding for this, a questionnaire has recently been sent out to HA Registration and Inspection Managers and copied to HA Chief Executives to obtain data on this group from local nursing homes for return to the Department by 27 July. I am sorry that because of the election, the timescale for returning this is now so tight, though I am sure you will appreciate the importance of ensuring that the returns are both accurate and timely. I recognise that there is much uncertainty across health and social care about the details of implementing this policy and concern also about the short timescale for achieving this. To address this, some frequently asked questions have now been placed on the Department's website at www.doh.gov.uk/jointunit/freenursingcare.htm and further information will be added to this over the coming months. More detailed draft guidance and draft directions will be issued for consultation shortly. A tool to be used by NHS nurses to determine people's need for registered nursing input to their care is nearing completion; a comprehensive training pack is being developed for nurses and a programme of regional seminars is being planned for September. A leaflet aimed at residents, their families and their carers, explaining how the scheme will work, is also being prepared for issue later in the summer. Further details available from mb-hsd-scju@doh.gsi.gov.uk 10. ONS Survey of the Development and Wellbeing of Children Looked After by Local Authorities Directors of social services will shortly be receiving a letter and information from ONS requesting the participation of your authority in a survey of the development and wellbeing of looked after children. This survey has been commissioned by the Department of Health. This work follows an earlier survey of the development and wellbeing of children in the general population which examined prevalence rates of the main childhood mental disorders, looked at the adverse consequences of such disorders and examined service use. A key outcome of conducting a similar survey of looked after children and young people will be our ability to compare the prevalence and needs of this population with the wider population. My purpose in writing is to encourage you to participate in this study. The information which can be provided by such a survey will be invaluable in taking forward a number of key current initiatives including strategic service planning with health agencies in relation to CAMHS, and understanding the stresses on placements and the training and support requirements of carers with a view to improving placement stability. This will be the first time such an exercise has been carried out throughout England and Wales. A second advantage will be the opportunity to work on the health inequalities targets and the improvement of health outcomes for looked after children and young people. The summary report on the general population survey can be downloaded in Portable Document Format at www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_health/KidsMentalHealth.pdf For more information please contact helen.jones@doh.gsi.gov.uk 11. Statistics on Outcome Indicators for Looked After Children During the Year Ending 30 September 2000 in England The first set of annual National Statistics on outcomes for children looked after by local authorities were published on 14 June. This is the first time that national figures on the educational attainments, health, and convictions of looked-after children have been compiled centrally. The collection was developed to help monitor progress towards the Quality Protects objective "to ensure that children looked after gain the maximum life chance benefits from educational opportunities, health care and social care." The publication presents a range of statistics about Key Stage and GCSE/GNVQ qualifications, the rate of offending and the health of young people who are looked after, at both a national and a local authority level, and provides the baseline for assessing future trends. Copies of the publication have been distributed by post to Directors of Social Services. Electronic copies can be found on the Department's website at www.doh.gov.uk/public/oi2000.htm At the same time, further analysis of data on educational qualifications of care leavers for the year ending 31 March 2000, which supplements figures published in October 2000, was also made available electronically at www.doh.gov.uk/public/eq2000.htm 12. Update of Key Indicators Graphical System (KIGS) and Revised Data on Social Services Performance in 1999-2000 An update of the Key Indicators Graphical System (KIGS) is released today (Thursday 14 June). KIGS contains data from 1990-91 to 2000-2001, where available, for some 300 indicators relating to local authority Personal Social Services (PSS) and enables charts to be produced comparing one or two of these at a time for any combination of local authorities in England. Copies on CD-ROM are being sent to the KIGS contact in each council with Social Services responsibilities. Further copies, price £20, are available from jeff.palmer@doh.gsi.gov.uk telephone 020 7972 5602, who can also let you know who the KIGS contact in a council is. Further information is available in a letter to KIGS users, contacts and Directors of Social Services. This KIGS Update includes revised 1999-2000 data for a number of PSS Performance Assessment Framework (PAF) indicators, in particular indicators involving expenditure or with matching Audit Commission Performance Indicators (PIs) following consultation with councils to resolve differences between data supplied on Key Statistics returns and used for the publication "Social Services Performance in 1999-2000" and final RO3 data submitted to the Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) and PIs published by the Audit Commission. Data for 1999-2000 for PAF indicator C33 (Avoidable harm for older people (falls and hypothermia)) is published for the first time. Further information is given in a press release and the revised data are available on the Department's website at www.doh.gov.uk/paf Ref. 23905. 13. The New Promoting Independence Grant, 2001-02 This notice is to remind local councils that their written joint plans agreed with the NHS in their area, setting out how they will use the Grant must be submitted to Social Care Regions, to NHS Executive Regional Offices, and to Social Care Branch 5 by 30 June 2001. Detailed guidance and further information on the Promoting Independence Grant 2001-2002 is available on the Department of Health website at www.doh.gov.uk/scg/independencegrant 14. SAFETY NOTICE - MDA SN2001(16): Rollators: Risk of Collapse and other Issues This Safety Notice was issued on 8 June to NHS Trust, Health Authority, and Primary Care Trusts Chief Executives and Directors of Social Services Department. As usual it was also issued to Liaison Officers of Trusts, Health Authorities and Social Services for action and for onward distribution as specified in the Notice. For further information on the role and nomination of Liaison Officers e-mail us at bs@medical-devices.gov.uk or access our website Electronic version of Safety Notice 2001(16) Social Care Interest 15. Personal Social Services staffing at 30 September 2000 Statistical Bulletin 2001/16 (Personal Social Services staff of Social Services Departments at 30 September 2000 England) is published today (Thursday 14 June). It provides data on social services staff employed by councils in England at 30 September 2000 and in preceding years, including breakdowns by gender (first available for 1999) and ethnic origin (new for 2000). The main results are available in a press release . Copies of the bulletin are being sent to Directors of Social Services Departments and are available on the Department's website at www.doh.gov.uk/public/sb0116.htm. More detailed local authority tables will be available shortly at www.doh.gov.uk/public/psstaff.htm. Care must be taken when interpreting the breakdown by ethnic origin since ethnic origin is unknown for 22% of staff. Eleven councils were unable to provide any breakdown by ethnic origin (including two that were unable to supply any staffing data for September 2000) and for the remaining councils ethnic origin was not known for 16% of staff. Fifty councils recorded ethnic origin for 99.5% or more of all staff. In order to make the ethnic origin information more meaningful, it is important that councils which failed to supply a breakdown by ethnic origin for any staff, or for a significant proportion of staff, carry out a further collection so that more complete information is available for the 30 September 2001 collection. Ref. 24023 The documents in this bulletin are Crown copyright but may be reproduced by NHS and Local Authority staff without formal permission or charge for personal or in-house use - ©2001 |
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