Chief Executive Bulletin
15 - 21 June 2001
Issue 71
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Chief Executive Bulletin
15 - 21 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
1. NHS Performance Fund 2001/02 4. Flexible Retirement for Hospital Doctors 5. General Dental Services Incentive Schemes Directions 2001 6. Free Nursing Care - Survey Of Self Funders Social Care interest NHS interest 1. NHS Performance Fund 2001/02 All NHS organisations are required to develop plans for using their share of the NHS Performance Fund and submit them to the Department's website. NHS organisations should complete and submit a plan proforma for each scheme working with their Regional Office where necessary. Blank proformas are now available via a link from the Fund website which is at www.doh.gov.uk/nhsperformance/perffund Before you can access the blank proforma site you will be asked for a "User name and password". Your Regional Office Performance Fund lead will give you these. Regional Office Performance Fund leads are: Northern and Yorkshire Fiona McDonald Trent Jane Marshall Eastern Katherine Wright and Veronica Watson London Chris Garrett South East Janet Meacham South West Pia Guidi West Midlands Sharon Beamish North West Geoff Minns Head Quarters Contacts: Alex Joiner, Performance Directorate, email - alex.joiner@doh.gsi.gov.uk If you have any difficulty accessing the site please email: adrian.harper@doh.gsi.gov.uk Bulletin 64 provided an outline on how the further £50m of capital was to be targeted on IM&T. We have been negotiating to obtain best value for money from the acquisition of the software and hardware required. The result will involve a mixture of central arrangements for software and local arrangements for hardware. Local choice has been protected. Details about the structure of these deals, access to advice from NHS Purchasing and Supplies Agency (PASA), and information about the distribution of the capital can be found at: www.doh.gov.uk/nhsexipu/whatnew/imtcapital.htm 3. Health Service Commissioner - Annual Report For 2000-2001 & "Completed Investigations" Report - December 2000 To March 2001 These reports are an invaluable source of information for the NHS both for improving services and as a training resource. Chief executives urged to consider carefully how they might best be used within their organisation. The Commissioner has raised in the reports some key themes emerging from his investigations - communications and complaints handling, nursing care, support and supervision of doctors in training, vexatious complainants, effective management of limited resources, co-ordination of care between professionals, communications with patients and families, and removal of patients from GPs lists. Some of these are themes that Commissioner has highlighted consistently over recent years and it is disappointing to see them feature again. Both reports highlight communications as a major area of concern and chief executives should take this opportunity to remind all staff of the particular importance of good communications, both between professionals and with patients and their families, for patient care. The annual report includes a particularly helpful Annex listing markers of successful complaints handling and chief executives should ensure that all complaints managers and conveners are provided with a copy of this. The Department will ensure that independent lay chairmen also receive a copy. The reports are published on the website, www.ombudsman.org.uk and can be bought from The Stationery Office (tel: 0845 702 3474). The Annual Report (HC3) ISBN 0-10-291001-4 costs £8.35, Investigations Completed part 1 (HC4-I) ISBN 0-10-291009X £9.75, part II (HC4-II) ISBN 0-10-2910103 price £25.60. If you have any problems accessing the report on the Ombudsman's website, please contact Suzanne Burge, Information Manager on 020 7217 4102 or Pat Simons, Assistant Information Manager on 020 7217 4104. The Ombudsman hopes that you will find these report useful and would be grateful if you would draw them to the attention of complaints managers and members of the Board. For further information contact: Adrian Landon, Complaints and Clinical Negligence Policy Unit Tel: 0113 254 5679, E-mail: alandon@doh.gov.uk 4. Flexible Retirement for Hospital Doctors Extending the contribution of staff pre-and post-retirement is an essential part of a Trust strategy to tackle vacancies and expand the workforce. HSC2000/022 highlighted the options and guidance available to staff and managers - the main options are summarised in the Annex. It is particularly important to offer flexible retirement options to doctors over 60 to maximise their continued contribution. Trust Chief Executives should review the retirement plans of medical staff nearing or over 60 and options for continued employment after their intended retirement, including part-time or job-share arrangements. Where re-employment is offered on a part-time basis, salaries should be agreed locally with pro-rata payment of distinction awards where appropriate. Re-employment following retirement is subject to the usual rules governing medical appointments. Within the rules of the NHS pension scheme there are a range of alternatives available for people approaching retirement. Simply stopping work and starting to draw a pension is not the only option. Winding Down As an alternative to retiring staff can wind down by arranging to work fewer days or hours. Pension entitlement continues to build up and because NHS pensions for part-timers are based on their whole-time equivalent salary, winding down rather than retiring should not reduce the eventual pension. Stepping Down Stepping down to a less demanding job on lower pay provides an option to reduce pressures and responsibility whilst still making good use of skills and experience. Provided this is arranged formally with the employer, the NHS pension earned before stepping down is frozen. A second pension then starts to build up based on the stepped down pay. At final retirement both pensions become payable. The frozen pension is kept up to dated with cost-of living increases each year. Retire and come back Retired staff can continue to work after they have taken their NHS pension. If they are over 60 the amount earned has no effect on their NHS pension income. The only constraint is that they do not work more than 16hours a week in the first month of retirement. This break is required to ensure that people do not take their pension before they are really retiring - otherwise everyone would be able to take their pension at 60 and continue working with salary plus pension. This would be expensive for the pension scheme and outside Inland Revenue rules. Once a NHS pension is in payment there is no further build up of pension. Working when needed Working after retirement can follow many different patterns. Some opt to work part-time, some want to work more flexibly, as and when they are available or to be called in to cover times of peak activity, over the winter or to cover absences. Trusts are encouraged to offer flexible arrangements that meet the needs of both the individual and the service. NHS Professionals will increasingly provide more flexible options for recently retired staff, including doctors. Provided staff are over 60 there are no NHS pension penalties. The NHS Pensions Agency has established a special helpline to handle pension queries about flexible retirement for hospital doctors on 01253 774440. The line is open to doctors and managers to check retirement plans and their impact on individual cases. 5. General Dental Services Incentive Schemes Directions 2001 The General Dental Services Incentive Schemes Directions 2001 come into force on 25 June 2001. The Directions cover: Aspects of these Directions were anticipated in guidance distributed with the Chief Executive Bulletin 1 - 7 June 2001, Issue 69. Further guidance will be issued with the next edition of the Chief Executive Bulletin. 6. Free Nursing Care - Survey Of Self Funders This is a follow-up to the note that appeared in last week's bulletin on free nursing care. A survey asking for details of the number of people in nursing homes who are paying for their own care (survey of self funders) has now been sent to HA Registration and Inspection Managers for return by 27 July. A copy of the letter and questionnaire is available at www.doh.gov.uk/public/selffundsurvey.htm and can be completed in Excel format. Health Authorities should obtain data from local nursing homes for return to the Department by 27 July. If your authority has not received a copy of the questionnaire, please contact tracie.kilbey@doh.gsi.gov.uk. Some frequently asked questions about free nursing care have now been placed on the Department's website at http://www.doh.gov.uk/jointunit/freenursingcare.htm and further information will be added to this over the coming months. Additional questions can be sent to mb-hsd-scju@doh.gsi.gov.uk. Social Care Interest 7. Quality On The Way - SSI National Inspection Report of an Inspection of Service Quality Improvements in Social Care - CI(2001)8 The White Paper, Modernising Social Services, included a clear Government commitment to raise standards in social care. In this report the Social Services Inspectorate (SSI) have been able to identify what all councils can do to develop services that promote independence and increase the life chances for service users. The inspection also showed the importance of a corporate commitment to improving the quality of social care services and engaging other council departments and agencies effectively in developing effective policies and services for the benefit of local citizens. Full report available at: http://www.doh.gov.uk/scg/qualityonway.htm Ref. 24061. Mailed to Chief Executives of Health Authorities, NHS Trusts, Local Authorities with PSS Responsibilities and Directors of Social Services. 8. CI Letter CI(2001)9 - `No Secrets' Guidance on Developing Multi-Agency Policies and Procedures to Protect Vulnerable Adults from Abuse. Covers the arrangements for submitting local multi-agency codes of practice to the Department of Health. Ref. 24208 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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