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Chief Executive Bulletin
11 - 17 January 2002
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Hard copy versions of these publications can be ordered from the NHS Responseline 08701 555 455. Contents: NHS / Social Care interest 1. Redefining the National Health Service - Speech by Rt Hon Alan Milburn MP NHS interest 2.
Learning the Lessons: The Department of Health's Response to the Bristol
Royal Infirmary Inquiry Report (Kennedy Report) Social Care interest 13. LASSL (2002)2
Consultation Document: Children's Rights Director Regulations NHS/Social Care interest 1. Redefining the National Health Service - Speech by Rt Hon Alan Milburn MP The Secretary of State for Health gave a speech to the New Health Network on 15 January 2002 which addressed the reasons for change in the health service, the need to put patients first and the relationship between patients and the health service and the health service and government. For a full transcript of the 'Redefining the National Health Service' speech visit: www.doh.gov.uk/speeches/jan2002milburnnhn.htm NHS interest 2. Learning the Lessons: The Department of Health's Response to the Bristol Royal Infirmary Inquiry Report (Kennedy Report) The Department's Response to the Bristol Royal Infirmary Report was published on Thursday 17 January. The full response and the executive summary can be found on the Department of Health's website www.doh.gov.uk/bristolinquiryresponse Professor Sir Ian Kennedy was asked to inquire both into the management of paediatric cardiac services in Bristol between 1984 and 1995 and to make recommendations which could help to secure high quality care across the NHS. The analysis contained in the Kennedy Report demonstrates the need for a fundamental reform of the relationship between government, the healthcare professions and the public - and the structural framework which support that relationship. It recommends a clear framework of standards and professional regulation to provide for effective management, leadership and professional accountability and clarify for patients what they can expect from the NHS. The central message of the Kennedy Report is the need to change the culture of the NHS so that patients are able to become active partners in care. We have accepted the broad approach set out in the Kennedy Report. Many of its 198 detailed recommendations were anticipated in the NHS Plan. Other recommendations which require primary legislation (relating to the role of the Commission for Health Improvement, strengthening patient and public involvement in the NHS and the regulation of healthcare professionals) have already been included in the provisions of the NHS Reform and Health Care Professions Bill introduced in November 2001. The actions set out in the Plan, the proposals in the Bill and the additional investment already agreed for the NHS will set us well on the road to effecting the necessary changes in the structure, attitudes and working practices of the NHS. The report on the Bristol Royal Infirmary should be a turning point for the NHS. It has given us a chance to reflect on the NHS of the past and consider what we want for the NHS of today. The commitment of everyone working in the health service will be crucial if we are to ensure that the NHS learns from the tragedy of Bristol, delivers the reforms that are needed and in train, and succeeds in developing an NHS where there is a culture of honesty, trust and openness and where patients are truly at the centre of care. Will be mailed to Regional Directors, Regional Directors of Public Health and Nursing. Hard copies of main report available from The Stationery Office only. 3. Treating NHS Patients Overseas. The first NHS patients to go overseas for treatment commissioned by the NHS are due to travel to France at the end of this week. Further visits are planned to France and to Germany in the near future, as part of the pilot exercise taking place in the South East of England. The Department is considering how best to manage the process of commissioning treatment for patients overseas in the context of the need to broaden patient choice and reduce waiting times. There is likely to be some form of coordinated arrangement for commissioning. Guidance will be published shortly. The Department will be contacting regions very soon to discuss what level of demand they might have in 2002-03 which cannot be met within existing capacity, for example in hard-pressed specialties such as orthopaedics. You will need to consider whether or not you wish to take advantage of the opportunity to commission treatment overseas. In the short term you will need to consider what messages to give to public who enquire about this initiative, ensuring that clinicians are kept fully informed. For more information contact either Peter Huntley, Chief Executive of
Channel PCG or Tim Baxter, the lead in the Department. 4. Clinical Governance in Community Pharmacy : Guidelines on Good Practice for the NHS Following allocation of £1 million to Health Authorities in September to support clinical governance in community pharmacy, these guidelines are now being disseminated to Health Authority, Primary Care Trusts and Primary Care Group Chief Executives and others. Drawing on existing examples of good practice, the Guidelines set out the initial action required to be taken by April 2002, in preparation to integrate community pharmacy into wider clinical governance plans for 2002-3 and beyond. They also outline the elements to be considered within local development plans and provide the wider context. The guidelines can also be found on the DH website at www.doh.gov.uk/clinicalgovernance/communitypharmacy.htm For queries about the guidelines, please contact Steve Holmes, tel 020 7210 4938 or email Steve.Holmes@doh.gsi.gov.uk Ref. 26270. Mailed to Health Authority, Primary Care Trusts and Primary Care Groups Chief Executives and Pharmaceutical Advisors. 5. General Ophthalmic Services: Increases in NHS Sight Test Fee - Guidance on Frequency of Sight Tests Two letters have been placed on the GOS website. The first letter announces increases in:
Determinations of the fees on behalf of the Secretary of State are annexed to the letter. The second letter covers implementation of a memorandum of understanding on frequency of NHS sight tests. The memorandum itself is the third attachment. Health Authorities and Primary Care Authorities are asked to:
Please direct any enquiries
to Jerry Read, Room 325 Richmond House, 79 Whitehall, London SW1A 2NS.
Letter
on fees www.doh.gov.uk/ophthalmicservices. 6. Statement of Principles Agreed by Organisations that Review Risk Management in NHS Bodies in England and Wales The statement sets out principles agreed by organisations that review, audit or inspect risk management in NHS bodies in England and Wales. The main organisations involved in reviews, audit or inspections have formed a group called the NHS Reviews Co-ordination Group (NHS RCG) whose aim is to rationalise reviews of risk management in health bodies by better coordination and by reducing duplication. The statement is the first step in the work of the NHS RCG and sets out principles that the members of the NHS RCG agree to and will endeavour to implement. The next stage of the work of the NHS RCG will consider arrangements for reviews of specific topics, starting with infection control. This work will identify and, as far as possible, remove the barriers to the implementation of the principles. To download a copy of the statement visit CHI's website at http://www.chi.nhs.uk/eng/cgr/risk_management.pdf For more information about the NHS RCG contact one of the representatives who are listed in the statement. 7. A Report of the CFS/ME Working Group Report to the Chief Medical Officer of an Independent Working Group Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS/ME) is a genuine illness and imposes a substantial burden on the health of the UK population. Improvement of health and social care for people affected by the condition is an urgent challenge. This report proposes ways in which clinicians and the NHS might respond to that challenge. Recommendations covered by the report include: For full details of the report visit www.doh.gov.uk/cmo/cfsmereport/index.htm. 8. Care Standards Act - Regulation Of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) From 1 April 2002, the National Care Standards Commission will be responsible for regulating private and voluntary providers of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which will be cited in regulations made under the Care Standards Act 2000 as a prescribed technique or prescribed technology. This note is to inform you of the outcome of the consultation on the regulations and national minimum standards for hyperbaric therapy, which was part of the consultation exercise on the regulations and standards for all independent health care. There are three main types of HBOT provision: a) hospital-based chambers fully equipped for emergency use which take NHS patients who have had diving or other relevant accidents (e.g. carbon monoxide poisoning). These facilities are usually provided under contract to the NHS; b) chambers owned or used by the MS Society or other charities or groups of disabled people for non-emergency use, which have no emergency or medical facilities and are often operated by the users' carers; and c) chambers that are used primarily for occupational purposes, where work has to be carried out under compression (e.g. tunnels, oil rigs), and accordingly the chambers are used routinely at the beginning and end of each shift. They may be mobile, or assembled where they are to be used and taken apart again when the work moves elsewhere. These chambers tend to be "rough and ready". After taking into account the views of consultees, including those of HSE, it has been concluded that it is appropriate for the NCSC to regulate chambers of the types described at a) and b) above. This will be achieved by a regulation stating that the chambers at c), those "primarily" used for occupational purposes, will be exempted from registration. If NHS providers intend to commission local occupational chambers for emergency treatment, they should negotiate any necessary improvements through normal contractual means. 9. Removal, Retention and use of Human Organs and Tissue In January 2001, the Chief Medical Officer made 17 recommendations in his advice on The Removal, Retention and Use of Human Organs and Tissue. One of the recommendations was to provide standardised consent forms for obtaining consent to hospital post-mortems and any subsequent retention of tissue and organs. As a result draft consultation documents have been developed. For further details and to see copies of the draft consultation documents visit: www.doh.gov.uk/tissue/index.htm Comments would be wecomed on these documents. Send to the mailbox Post.Mortem.Consent@doh.gsi.gov.uk. The deadline for comments is Friday 12 April 2002. 10. Update: New Website Listing Independent Sector Acute Activity Available for NHS Independent providers representing the great majority of the independent healthcare sector have now published details of a large number of acute procedures they can undertake from January to March this year by location and by clinical specialty for access by the NHS on a secure website (note the NWW rather than WWW address) nww.pasa.doh.gov.uk/indhealth Contact with the providers and bookings for procedures should be made in the normal way. Those in the NHS wishing to access the site should use the address above and click on "search" to go to the members' login page. To obtain a user-name and password click on register, complete details, request access to independent healthcare and submit. You will be notified as soon as your access is cleared. If you already have a username and password please e-mail pasaweb@doh.gsi.gov.uk requesting access to independent healthcare. If you have any problems accessing the website, please contact Suzanne Mew at PASA (suzanne.mew@doh.gsi.gov.uk). The website should be particularly useful for those seeking to identify suitable independent sector partners over the coming months. 11. National Shared Services Initiative The Electronic Staff Record Project will be formally launched at University Hospital Birmingham, the test site for this project, on Monday, January 21. Representatives from each of the 15 pilot sites involved in the project have been invited to this event at which details of the implementation plans will be explained. This project will provide, for the first time, an integrated human resource and payroll system common to the whole NHS in England and Wales. It is the first step in a planned implementation of standard systems across the NHS. The 2002/03 health authority (HA) revenue resource limits exposition book is designed to be of practical use to HA and PCT directors of finance and others with an interest in the allocation of resources to HAs. It provides all the information needed to understand how HA unified allocations have been calculated. www.doh.gov.uk/allocations/2002-2003/expo02-03 Social Care Interest 13. LASSL (2002)2 Consultation Document: Children's Rights Director Regulations Draft Children's Rights Director Regulations have been issued today for public consultation. The regulations will establish the scope of the Children's Rights Director's role and responsibilities. The Children's Rights Director will be based within the National Care Standards Commission (NCSC).The post-holder, Roger Morgan, will have a national overview of the rights of children receiving services regulated by the NCSC. The role of the Children's Rights Director will range across all the different constituencies of children receiving services regulated under the Care Standards Act (CSA) 2000. The consultation document is available on www.doh.gov.uk/qualityprotects. The consultation period will last for three months, to give enough time for interested parties to read and comment on the proposed draft regulations. Responses should be returned to the Department of Health by Thursday, 11 April 2002. Ref. 26476. Hard copy available w/c 21/1/02. 14. Children Looked After by Local Authorities : Data Requirements for Year Ending 31 March 2002 The Department's statistical requirements for children's services for the year ending 31 March 2002 which are due for return on or before 30 June 2002 have now been finalised. For each of the returns listed below, a copy of the form and notes of guidance for their completion have been placed on the Department of Health's 'Statistics and Surveys' web pages at: www.doh.gov.uk/stats/forms.htm For return by 30 April 2002
For return by 31 May 2002
For return by 30 June 2002
Full details of all the above files placed on the internet have been sent directly to the usual DOH local council contact point. The letter was dated 16 January 2002. 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 Back to Chief Executive's Bulletin Home Page
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