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Chief Executive Bulletin
The documents in this bulletin are Crown copyright but may be reproduced by NHS and Council staff without formal permission or charge for personal or in-house use - ©2002 Contents: NHS and Social Care interest 1. NHS Performance Indicators: February 20022. Welfare to Work Joint Investment Plans for Disabled People – Next Stage 3. Cabinet Office Report on Women and Public Services NHS interest 4. The New NHS
- 2001 Reference Costs Social Care interest 12. Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF)
NHS / Social Care interest 1. NHS Performance Indicators: February 2002 This is the third set of NHS Performance Indicators to be published by this Government, and the first to include a full range of indicators for NHS hospital trusts. The NHS Performance Indicators are part of an intensive process of publishing information on the performance of NHS organisations in order to provide comparisons and improve performance overall. The publication of the Kennedy Inquiry Report on the Bristol Royal Infirmary has reinforced the need to make more information on NHS performance available in more easily accessible formats. The NHS Performance Indicators are a part of that process. They focus on the things that matter most to patients and the public, and are there to encourage an open and honest debate about the state of the National Health Service. At a local level this debate will be supported by summary reports on the performance of health authorities and NHS hospital trusts on these indicators. These summary reports have been designed primarily for the benefit of the boards of the new health authorities - and subsequently strategic health authorities - primary care trusts and primary care groups hosted within the existing health authorities and NHS trusts. They highlight for them where their organisations, or their partner organisations, have done well on the indicators and where further improvements are necessary. I expect trust and health authority boards to give these reports serious consideration and to take appropriate action. These summary reports are public documents and are available on the Department of Health’s website. http://www.doh.gov.uk/nhsperformanceindicators/2002/index.html Ref. NHS Performance Indicators Health Authorities 26830, NHS Performance Indicators Acute NHS Hospital Trusts 26829. Will be mailed to NHS Chief Executives, Chairmen and Directors, Local Authority Chief Executives, Chairmen and Directors of Social Services w/c 25/2/02. 2. Welfare to Work Joint Investment Plans for Disabled People – Next Stage Letter to Local Authority Chief Executives from Sue White in Disability Policy Branch on the future of Welfare to Work Joint Investment Plans for disabled people. A report by the Nuffield Institute for Health on best practice in producing WtW JIPs is also available on the Department's web-site. Details http://www.doh.gov.uk/jointunit/updatefuturewelfare.htm 3. Cabinet Office Report on Women and Public Services The Women and Equality Unit in the Cabinet Office recently published the report Better Services – Better Working Lives: How health and education services are delivering for women. This initiative is part of the Government’s priority to ensure the delivery of accessible, first class public services. The aim of the report is to measure how well our public services are being delivered, through listening to the main users and providers of health and educational services – women. The report contains the key priorities for the Government’s reform programme for health and education, and what these reforms will mean for women both as users and employees. It also includes recommendations for local action and good practice examples that could provide background information and inspiration for local discussions about innovative service provision and improved working lives for front-line staff. Please follow the link below for an electronic version of the full report. http://www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk/public_services/educationandhealth.htm NHS interest 4. The New NHS - 2001 Reference Costs The NHS Plan signalled the investment of significant additional resources in the NHS, to deliver improved patient care. This publication shows the unit costs of NHS treatments and procedures, and this is one part of the overall framework of service performance to help ensure that the NHS is making the best use of that investment and delivering high quality yet cost-effective services. The coverage of services included in this reference cost report has been extended from the 2000 report. Services in the acute setting are covered in greater detail and there is extended coverage of community services. This publication includes information on the services provided by Primary Care Trusts in their first year. It also includes information on outpatient and other traditional secondary care services now being provided by Personal Medical Services plus pilots. Details can be found on the Department of Health website http://www.doh.gov.uk/nhsexec/refcosts.htm 5. Operating Theatre & Pre-operative Assessment Programme On 8 February the Secretary of State announced £8.5m for a new Operating Theatre & Pre-operative Assessment Programme to spread good practice developed by the NHS Modernisation Agency's Theatre and Pre-operative Assessment Projects. Funding has been made available for 2002/03 and 2003/04 to provide resources, support and incentives for NHS Trusts to implement the NHS Modernisation Agency’s guidance and significantly reduce cancelled operations. Letters explaining how the Programme will operate have been sent to chief executives of all NHS Trusts included in the performance ratings and to specialist NHS Trusts. All NHS Trusts will receive incentive funding of £25-35,000 to help them implement the guidance. In addition, Trusts with zero or one stars in the performance ratings and two star Trusts that significantly underachieved on cancelled operations in the performance ratings, will receive financial support for full time project management and clinical leadership. Further details about the Operating Theatre & Pre-operative Assessment Programme can be obtained by emailing Jacqueline.Lloyd@npat.nhs.uk 6. Implementing Clinical Governance in the GDS Issue 49 (http://www.doh.gov.uk/cebulletin18jan.htm) of the Chief Executive’s bulletin contained information about the new Terms of Service requirement for dentists providing General Dental Services (GDS) to undertake 15 hours of clinical audit/peer review during each three year period from April 2001. Issue 58 (http://www.doh.gov.uk/cebulletin22march.htm) contained links to a letter from the Chief Dental Officer and guidance on how the scheme would run. All Health Authorities were expected to prepare to take over administrative responsibility for clinical audit and peer review by April 2004 at the latest. The restructuring which is underway to implement Shifting the Balance of Power means that the responsibility for clinical audit and peer review for dentists will transfer to Primary Care Trusts (PCTs). PCTs will need to plan how to administer this scheme and will want to consider the most effective way to discharge this responsibility as part of their clinical governance responsibilities. The 28 new HAs will retain the legal responsibility for General Dental Services from April 2002 until October 2002 when StHAs (subject to Parliamentary approval) are created. Between April and October there will be an orderly migration of the administrative functions of HAs to PCTs. In planning for the future PCTs will wish to note that there is an existing infrastructure, managed by a system of Lead Health Authorities, with some central funding for professional approval panels and local project facilitators and convenors, which supports the GDS clinical audit/peer review scheme. The central funding is to be devolved to PCTs from April 2004 and PCTs should prepare to take over full responsibility for the scheme by that date. For continuity of delivery, whilst PCT plans are being developed, PCTs may wish to establish collaborative arrangements to maintain the expertise that exists in this area. Details of Lead Health Authorities can be obtained from the National Centre for Continuing Professional Education of Dentists (NCCPED) website at http://www.nccped.co.uk/ Further information can be obtained from Lee Surry at the NCCPED on 020 7905 1227 or by e-mail to lsurry@nccped.co.uk 7. Protocol for the Re-Banding of Training Grade Posts Agreement has been reached between the Department and the BMA on a standard protocol to be used when the re-banding of junior medical staff posts is carried out. This protocol has been circulated to Action Teams and can be downloaded from the Departments website at http://www.doh.gov.uk/juniordoctors/rebandingprotocol.htm 8. Criminal Records Bureau, Police Checks, Protection of Children and Protection of Vulnerable Adults: Guidance for NHS Employers. The CRB commences its disclosure service on 1 March. Guidance for NHS employers can be found at the web link below. It covers details of the new procedures for obtaining a police check with the CRB and Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults checks. CRB web site Please do not hesitate to contact Gordon Fleck in HRD-HRB with any queries. Gordon.fleck@doh.gsi.gov.uk Tel No: 0113 254 6575 The current policy section of Firecode - Policy & Principles has been replaced with a new Department of Health fire safety policy. The new policy should be implemented throughout healthcare premises owned, occupied or managed by the NHS in England, and throughout premises utilised for the treatment or care of NHS patients. New guidance - HTM 88 fire precautions in housing providing NHS supported living in the community. This document replaces the earlier version of HTM 88 entitled Guide to fire precautions in NHS housing in the community for mentally handicapped (or mentally ill) people, originally published in 1986. The new edition takes account of the greater number of properties currently used for this type of accommodation, and changes in legislation to require the need for risk assessment. In this aspect, the guidance is retrospective and action plans will need to be developed to address shortfalls in fire safety standards. Both documents are available
on the NHS Estates web site under publications & guidance.
www.nhsestates.gov.uk 10. Tackling Health Inequalities: Conference on welfare advice in GP surgeries: May 20th, 2002 Bradford Bradford City PCT’s Health Plus scheme contracts with seven advice agencies to deliver benefit, debt, housing, employment and immigration advice sessions in over 30 GP practices. This conference will explain why we set the scheme up, how we got GPs on board, what services we offer and what service users get out of it. Please register your interest by contacting Nick Hodgkinson on:
11. Copying Letters to Patients An update on the Copying Letters to Patients policy initiative was included in edition 98 of this bulletin. The draft report of the Working Group on copying letters to patients has now been forwarded to officials at the Department of Health. The next step is for it to be presented to Ministers for their views and comments. Further information is available on www.doh.gov.uk/patientletters Social Care Interest 12. Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF) You may wish to be aware that the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit has written to local authorities and Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) in the 88 areas eligible for the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF), inviting comments on the draft Special Grant Report for the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund 2002-3. The draft Special Grant Report sets out allocations and conditions for the use of the NRF. One of the changes from this year's Grant Report is the clear expectation that given the development and accreditation of LSPs, local authorities and LSPs should be collaborating to determine how NRF can be used to improve local services. The Neighbourhood Renewal Unit are seeking comments to the very short deadline of 3pm on Wednesday 20 February. As an LSP member, you may be asked to comment as part of this consultation process. Local authorities are asked to comment via the LGA or Government Office. However, if you would like to receive a copy of the draft Special Grant Report direct, and wish your views to be incorporated with those of DH, please e-mail mushi.rahman@doh.gsi.gov.uk
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