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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. Fairer charging policies for home care and other non-residential social services - practice guidance
2. NHS Local Improvement Finance Trust (NHS LIFT)
3. European Year of Disabled People (EYDP) 2003 - grants
4. Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Bill
5. Mental health services - change of address
6. Changes to the SITREP dataset from 30 September 2002
7. NHS funded nursing care - transfer of funds from local authorities
8. HSC 1999/191: Fire safety and statutory & safety ministerial targets returns for 30 September 2002
9. Sustainability in public services 2002 annual conference and exhibition

NHS interest

10. Proposed standards for NHS help line guidelines
11. NHS Modernisation Agency - improvement leaders' guides
12. Ward environment budgets
13. National chlamydia screening programme and publication of the pilot reports
14. Next wave of diagnosis and treatment centres (DTCs)
15. National occupational standards and qualifications for support services - progress since June 2002
16. FP10(HP) - NHS trust payment guidance
17. Personal Medical Services (PMS) pilots - fifth wave announcement
18. Day surgery operational guide
19. Senior house officer modernisation report

Social care interest

20. Preserved rights grant 2002/03
21. Tackling health inequalities through local public service agreements - guidance

1. Fairer charging policies for home care and other non-residential social services - practice guidance

The Department will publish Fairer Charging Policies for Home Care and other non-residential Social Services - Practice Guidance on 22 August. The guidance offers suggestions on how the statutory guidance should be implemented and operated and includes references to good practice. Section III of the practice guidance about benefits advice is issued jointly by the Department of Health and the Department for Work and Pensions.

The practice guidance can be found at www.doh.gov.uk/scg/homecarecharges/practiceguidancefinal.pdf

For further details contact Helen Woodhead at helen.woodhead@doh.gsi.gov.uk or Mike Sosnowski at mike.sosnowski@doh.gsi.gov.uk

The Department has announced a third wave of NHS LIFT schemes, bringing the total number under development to 42.

NHS LIFT aims to deliver improved primary care facilities by batching together a number of primary care developments within an area. The schemes will be established as public-private partnerships with the private sector providing the majority of funding. NHS LIFT should help strength joint working with local authorities.

The locations of the 24 schemes are Ashfield; Ashton, Leigh and Wigan; Barnet, Enfield and Haringey; Brent and Harrow; Bristol; Bromley, Bexley and Greenwich; Colchester and Tendring; Derby; Doncaster; Dudley; Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow; East Hampshire and Fareham and Gosport; Gedling; Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham; Leeds; Norfolk; Oldham; Oxford City; Sheffield; St Helens, Knowsley, Halton and Warrington; Tees; Plymouth; Wandsworth, Kingston, Richmond and Twickenham and Wolverhampton.

For further information contact:
James Skelly at james.skelly@doh.gsi.gov.uk or 0113 254 6295
Joe Clyne at joe.clyne@doh.gsi.gov.uk or 0113 254 5603

The European Year of Disabled People will be launched in Greece on 26 and 27 January 2003. The UK theme will be 'Promote Rights and Participation', with sub themes of advocacy/mentoring, participation and raising awareness.

Grants of up to £10,000 for local projects and up to £50,000 for regional/national projects are available. The grants are made up of funding from the European Commission and the Government. Any organisation (but not an individual) can apply for funds. An application could be headed up by a local authority, or the NHS, even a business can apply for funds, but it must be for a non-profit making venture.

The logo for the EYDP can be found at http://www.eypd2003.org/eypd/eypd/index.html.

The logo will have no copyright. Guidelines will be available and publicised with the logo, which will state its conditions of use. It has been agreed that the UK can refer to the year as the European Year of Disabled People, as opposed to the European Year of People with Disabilities, as is favoured in Europe.

The UK's grant application process was launched on 24 June. The closing date for bids will be 27 September. Bids will be sifted during October, with decisions being made by 14 November.

For further information contact opdenquiries@dh.gsi.gov.uk or visit the EYPD website at www.disability.gov.uk

The Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Bill is before parliament and if approved, is likely to become law in the autumn.

Comments are invited on draft regulations covering the following topics:

• advertising in places or on websites where tobacco products are offered for sale
• the shared use of names or other features by tobacco and non-tobacco products (brand-sharing or indirect advertising)
• transitional arrangements for phasing out tobacco sponsorship.

The consultation document can be found at http://www.doh.gov.uk/tobaccoregsconsult/index.htm

Paper copies are available from Paul Webbewood at the Department of Health, Wellington House, Waterloo Rd, London SE1 8UG, 020 7972 4571, paul.webbewood@doh.gsi.gov.uk

From 27 August 2002 the work on the mental health grant, mental health supplementary credit approvals and homeless mentally ill initiative will be transferred from Quarry House, Leeds to Blenheim House, Leeds. Completed MHG forms, SCA forms, HMII invoices and any official correspondence from this date should be directed to:

Mental Health Services, Department of Health, Second Floor, Blenheim House, West One, Duncombe Street, Leeds, LS1 4PL.

Contacts for enquiries and queries are:

Andrea Drummond 0113 254 3831 or Andrea.Drummond@doh.gsi.gov.uk
Helen Scaman 0113 254 3830 or Helen.Scaman@doh.gsi.gov.uk
Anthony Morrill 0113 254 3827 or Anthony.Morrill@doh.gsi.gov.uk

The fax number will be 0113 254 3828

Changes to the SITREP dataset will come into effect at the end of September 2002. These changes have been approved by the performance board and by Review of Central Returns (ROCR).

The first SITREP which should be reported using the new dataset is for the period Monday 30 September to Sunday 6 October.

The changes involve clarification of some definitions to improve consistency with equivalent quarterly and annual collections. One item will be discontinued.

Four new data items will be introduced:

• percentage category A 999 calls responded to within eight minutes
• number of days within reporting period where 75 per cent or more category A 999 calls were responded to within eight minutes
• total emergency admissions by acute trust
• delayed transfers of care - breakdown to be collected by name of local authority.

Full details of the changes are available at http://nww.doh.nhsweb.nhs.uk/steis/ or by contacting Blessing Chukwunyere on Blessing.Chukwunyere@doh.gsi.gov.uk

The nursing care of some care home residents currently supported by local authorities will become an NHS responsibility in April 2003. The Government is carrying out a consultation to decide which funds should be transferred from local authorities to the NHS to cover the costs of this care.

A copy of the consultation document can be found at http://www.doh.gov.uk/jointunit/freenursingcare/transferoffunds.htm

For further information contact Geoff Barratt on Geoff.Barratt@doh.gsi.gov.uk

The next round of the mandatory data collection for the ministerial fire and health & safety targets set by HSC 1999/191 returns is due to report the position of trusts by 30 September 2002.

It is stressed that completion of this return is important. The final health and safety target date of 31 March 2002 has already passed yet there remains a number of trusts who have failed to meet the target. Many trusts forecast that they are unlikely to meet the final fire safety target by 31 March 2003.

In such cases, trusts are required to provide an explanation as to the reasons for failing to meet the targets, particularly with regard to the risk to persons, actions being taken, and views of the local statutory enforcement bodies.

Blank copies of the fire safety and health and safety proformas can be found at www.doh.gov.uk/safety. User notes are included for assistance which should be read before completing the return.

Completed forms should be returned by 11 October 2002 to NHS Estates, 1 Trevelyan Square, Boar Lane, Leeds, LS1 6AE, marked for the attention of the Head of Performance and Estates Analysis.

Please note that the previous practice of forwarding completed returns to the former regional offices has ceased and these, together with future returns, are to be forwarded to NHS Estates headquarters.

For further information contact:
Dennis Bastow on 0113 254 7106 or dennis.bastow@doh.gsi.gov.uk
Rachel Fenwick on 0113 254 7048 or rachel.fenwick@doh.gsi.gov.uk

Green Government Magazine's annual conference and exhibition 'Sustainability in Public Services' will be held at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in central London on Wednesday 27 November.

There will be a presentation on the new NHS environmental strategy which may be of interest to environmental health and safety officers, energy and environmental managers and hospital estate and facilities managers. There will also be local authority presentations on the benefits of using certified EMS and EMAS (the EU Eco Management and Audit Scheme) in public services.

The conference will focus on the implementation of environmental management systems in central government departments, adoption of EMAS by local authorities and other themes in sustainable development of interest to organisations in public services, such as corporate social responsibility, social reporting and green procurement.

For further information contact the delegate information line on 0800 542 9590 or visit www.sips2002.com. For exhibition opportunities contact Rob Hollis on 0161 211 3000.

NHS interest

10. Proposed standards for NHS help line guidelines

The Commission for Health Improvement (CHI) is seeking the views of all NHS organisations in England and Wales on proposed standards for NHS help line guidelines. CHI is developing mandatory guidelines following its investigation into the case of a Loughborough GP last year - anxiety was expressed to CHI about the role and purpose of the health authority's help line.

A number of voluntary and statutory bodies have been working with CHI to develop the standards. NHS organisations are urged to comment and share their own policies and examples of good practice.

The proposed standards can be found at http://www.chi.gov.uk/eng/latestnews/008.shtml

Please send comments and existing help line policies to margaret.tozer@chi.nhs.uk

These guides are aimed at everyone who wants to improve the care and experience of patients. They form a set of principles designed to create the best conditions for improvement in healthcare and ideally should support a programme of training in improvement techniques.

Earlier this year, three guides were published on the themes of: process mapping and redesign; matching capacity and demand; measurement for improvement. The latest guides look at: managing the human dimensions of change; involving patients and carers; sustainability and spread.
They are all available on the internet at www.modern.nhs.uk/improvementguides

For further information contact Mike McBride, Redesign team, NHS Modernisation Agency, 0116 222 1410, improvementguides@npat.nhs.uk

The Government announced in 2002 that ward sisters and charge nurses who manage a ward must be given the opportunity to control a ward environment budget of at least £5,000.

All hospitals that have not already done so should establish ward environment budgets with immediate effect so they will be available to nurses for the remainder of the financial year. SHA approval must be obtained for any exceptions.

The budgets can be spent on whatever ward sisters/charge nurses consider will best enhance and humanise patient care or improve the working lives of staff. This includes improvements and repairs to the ward itself, non-medical equipment and consumables. The one restriction is that budgets cannot be spent on staff pay costs or other staff related costs such as training.

NHS purchasing cards are available as a visa-backed 'charge card'. These cards have the advantage of extra security and corporate identity and are the easiest way to enable nurses to access and control their ward environment budgets.

Further guidance can be found at www.doh.gov.uk/publications/pointh.html (guidance: ward environment budgets), at www.purchasingcard.nhs.uk (NHS purchasing cards) or by contacting Catherine Burke at catherine.burke@doh.gsi.gov.uk

Ten locations will take forward the first phase of a national chlamydia screening programme as proposed by the National Strategy for Sexual Health and HIV. The sites will share £1.5 million to help set up the screening programme which will primarily target women aged 16-24 who access sexual health services.

Evaluation results from pilots carried out at Portsmouth and Wirral found that testing was a success with both patients and healthcare professionals and reached a high proportion of the target group. Of those offered screening 75 per cent accepted and approximately 1 in 10 were found to be infected.

Recent data issued by the Public Health Laboratory Service showed that in 2001, chlamydia became the most common sexually transmitted infection seen in GUM clinics with a total of 71,055 diagnoses.

A summary report of the pilots can be found at http://www.doh.gov.uk/sexualhealthandhiv/chlamydscreenpilot.htm Paper copies can be obtained from Chlamydia Screening Programme, Rm 580D Skipton House, 80 London Rd, London, SE1 6LH.

Further information including the names of the 10 sites can be found on the Department of Health press release

For further information contact Dr Alison Austin on 0207 972 1527 or Alison.Austin@doh.gsi.gov.uk

A 'trailblazer' wave of 10 DTCs was announced on 16 August. These will be operational by 2004 and will treat more than 25,000 extra cases a year. They are in addition to the first wave of nine DTCs announced earlier this year and to be operational by the end of 2002, treating an extra 32,000 cases a year.

DTCs will contribute to the rapid, large-scale capacity increase required in the NHS by spearheading new ways of delivering services and increasing diversity of provision. The DTC programme is expanding and accelerating. As part of their capacity plans SHAs will identify further DTC proposals which can quickly deliver additional capacity through modernised services.

To ensure the development of best practice and to maximise innovative processes, DTCs are supported by a national Modernisation Agency programme. Further information about the programme and about DTCs (including a statement of the defining characteristics of DTCs) is on the Modernisation Agency website at www.modernnhs.nhs.uk/dtc

The announcement of the trailblazer DTC schemes on 16 August is on the Department of Health website

For further information contact Claire Bache at Claire.Bache@doh.gsi.gov.uk

The draft national occupational standards and a qualifications framework for support services have been produced.

Detailed work has been carried out through a series of technical workshops. The drafts are now ready for wider consultation and field-testing.

Field-testing will run from August to November/December. Volunteers were requested for this stage and the response was excellent. Four workshops will be held for all those who wish to take part. They will be held in:

More details can be found at www.doh.gov.uk/occupationalstandards/index.htm

For further information contact Kate Smith on 0117 922 1155 or kate.smith@skillsforhealth.org.uk

Please pass this information to finance colleagues.

In April 2002, the Prescription Pricing Authority (PPA) began to invoice NHS trusts for prescriptions written in hospitals and dispensed in the community. Before this, NHS trusts would reimburse HAs for their drug expenditure, who in turn would pay the PPA's invoices.

Due to local arrangements between HAs and trusts, some trusts have found that between April and July 2002 they received invoices for December 2001- March 2002 that they had already reimbursed to HAs as estimates in 2001-2002. These trusts are asked not to pay the PPA for these invoices.

However, this must not be seen as a windfall. In each financial year, NHS trusts should receive enough cash funding to cover 12 months worth of FP10(HP) expenditure. Therefore, the Department of Health will accordingly reduce their EFL.

Detailed guidance can be found at www.doh.gov.uk/cebulletin/trustguidance.htm and www.doh.gov.uk/finman.htm.

NHS trusts which in the past have reimbursed HAs on receipts of the FP10(HP) invoice and have not made estimates are not affected by this guidance.

For further information contact Joanne Bowling on 0113 254 5350 or joanne.bowling@doh.gsi.gov.uk

A fifth wave of PMS pilots has been established and applications are invited. The pilots are an integral part of the Government's modernisation of the NHS. The Prime Minister made clear at the 30 April 2002 PCT conference that PMS is here to stay as a separate and complementary option to the new GMS contract.

The flexibility of the local PMS contract gives providers of primary care services the scope to find new ways of addressing local issues.

A letter outlining the application procedure can be found at www.doh.gov.uk/pricare/pca.htm

This letter provides information on the application process, the PMS agreement framework, consultation, sources of funding for pilots and support networks. A timetable is attached at annex A. The statutory roles and responsibilities of SHAs and PCTs are outlined in annex B.

For further information contact Eve Whittingham on 0113 254 5848 or Eve.Whittingham@doh.gsi.gov.uk

The Day Surgery Operational Guide is now available. Aimed at managers and clinical directors, it looks at ways to improve day surgery rates. This may be through new builds, better use of current services and/or managing current pathways more effectively. The guide covers patient preferences and selection, day surgery activity, accommodation, management, staffing, PCTs, and funding.

Improvements in day surgery rates will help trusts to meet waiting, booking and choice targets. The NHS Plan sets out a target day case rate of 75 per cent - it currently stands at 68 per cent.

It is important that chief executives make use of this guide and ensure it is cascaded to all staff who may be involved in the day surgery process including managers, commissioners and clinical staff, particularly those in day surgery facilities. Hard copies have been sent to medical and financial directors in NHS trusts, PCTs and SHAs.

A summit is to be held on 24 September to help trusts look at their day surgery rates and the ways that they can be improved (invitations to trusts have been sent out).

The Day Surgery Operational Guide can be found at www.doh.gov.uk/daysurgery/index.htm

For further information contact Paul Woods on 0207 972 4811 or Kate Bowe on 0207 972 4010.

Unfinished Business, the chief medical officer's report on proposals for reform of the senior house officer (SHO) grade was published for consultation on 21 August. The report acknowledges longstanding problems with the grade and offers a new approach to SHO training.

This new approach will see pre-registration house officers and doctors at the start of their careers entering foundation programmes which will give them broad-based experience before they make major career choices. They will then enter well-structured and managed SHO programmes designed to produce high-quality trainees ready to go on and become general practitioners or consultants.

The report is available at www.doh.gov.uk/shoconsult/index.htm

For further information contact Andrew Matthewman at andrew.matthewman@doh.gsi.gov.uk

Social care interest

20. Preserved rights grant 2002/03

Local authorities should note that the first payments of the Preserved Rights Grant will be made by the end of August and will cover the period April to August 2002 inclusive. Subsequent payments will be made in monthly instalments from September 2002.

Audit certificates for both the Preserved Rights Grant 2002/3 and the Residential Allowance (Phasing Out) Grant 2002/3 will be issued later this year. Paragraph 6 of Annex B of the Preserved Rights Grant Determination and paragraph 4 of Annex B of the Residential Allowance (Phasing Out) Grant Determination refer to the certified statements that authorities will be required to submit in respect of each grant.

The Determination of the Preserved Rights Grant for 2002/03 can be found at www.doh.gov.uk/scg/determinationprg0203.pdf. The conditions of the grant are specified in Annex B of the determination.

Authorities can obtain advice on preserved rights and residential allowance policy from Roger Pettit, Directorate for Older People, Children and Social Care Services, 020 7972 4723, Roger.Pettit@doh.gsi.gov.uk.

The Department of Health is preparing guidance for Local Authorities who wish to adopt an LPSA target on health inequalities. An early version of the guidance was published in error in the Chief Executive Bulletin. This should not have happened as the guidance is still being developed. The final version of the guidance will be available shortly.

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 - ©2002

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copyright: © | Last updated: 27 August, 2002