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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. Representation of the People Act 2000 - Voting Rights of Detained Patients NHS interest2. Urgent Action – Invitation to Submit Proposals for Funding,
for Piloting Solutions to Implementing the Working Time Directive for
Junior Doctors Social Care interest12. CI (2002)4 Social Services Performance
"Star" Ratings NHS / Social Care interest1. Representation of the People Act 2000 - Voting Rights of Detained Patients The Representation of the People Act 2000 made new provision with respect to the registration of voters, amending the Representation of the People Act 1983. Under the 2000 Act, those detained in hospital for mental disorder who have not been convicted of a criminal offence are now able to register using the hospital as place of residence. They can alternatively register in respect of a home address or in pursuance of a declaration of local connection; council registration officers will be able to advise which of these is most appropriate. For full text of the Act see www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/20000002.htm NHS interest2. Urgent Action – Invitation to Submit Proposals for Funding, for Piloting Solutions to Implementing the Working Time Directive for Junior Doctors Martin Staniforth, Deputy Director of Human Resources at Department of Health, has written to invite outline bids, by Friday 3 May, for pilot studies in individual trusts or groups of trusts which will demonstrate innovative ways of delivering services while complying with the requirements of the post-2004 Working Time Directive (WTD) legislation. The Department is keen to commission pilots in trusts which have already developed ideas which could be worked up rapidly. Expressions of interest should be directed initially to Improving Junior Doctors’ Working Lives (IJDWL) action teams. This letter will also be of particular interest to HR directors. Full letter text available at: www.doh.gov.uk/juniordoctors/proposalspiloting.htm 3. Working Time Directive – Reminder to all Trusts Employers are reminded about the application of the Working Time Directive Regulations, which came into force in October 1998 in respect of career grade doctors employed on national terms and conditions of service. The WTD means that no career grade doctor can work more than 48 hours, unless they volunteer to do so. This agreement does not apply to doctors in training. There are some exceptions to these regulations and those relating to night working, daily rest, weekly rest and breaks at work do not apply to career grade hospital doctors, however they will accrue compensatory rest for hours worked during rest breaks. A process of locally decided collective monitoring should underpin the agreement. There is a general responsibility for employers and employees under law to protect the health and safety at work of all employees. Control of working hours is an integral part of managing health and safety at work and promoting health at work. In assessing weekly working employers should take the following factors into account:
Employers should work with doctors locally to develop effective processes to assess working hours. Records of the agreed monitoring processes and the results of that monitoring for groups of doctors should be kept. The purpose of such monitoring is to allow employers to act where they are in breach of the Regulations and to allow proper planning of compensatory rest. Further details can be found in A/L(MD) 6/98 Working Time Directive Agreement for Career Grade Doctors 4. National Audit Office Examination of Clinical Governance in Secondary and Tertiary Healthcare. The NAO wrote to chief executives of secondary and tertiary NHS Trusts on 5 April, asking them to complete a short form by providing contact names and details of any recent merger their Trust has been involved in. The purpose of the form is to ensure that questionnaires are sent to the right people, and that the population for the NAO examination is identified clearly. Because the information is important to their work, the NAO wrote again on 19 April, extending the return date to 26 April. It would be helpful if chief executives could ensure that the forms are returned by the new due date. If any chief executives have any queries regarding this reminder, or have not received the form, please contact Guy Munro at the NAO (guy.munro@nao.gsi.gov.uk) 5. The National Primary and Care Trust
Development Programme Further to previous correspondence dated 5 March 2002, we are writing to you with an update on the development of this programme. Letter in Portable Document Format (PDF)
Contact Details:
6. Do you work on Healthcare for Asylum Seekers? Michael Swaffield is co-ordinating health and social care policy for asylum seekers at the Department of Health. He can be contacted by telephone on 0113 254 5002 or via Michael.Swaffield@doh.gsi.gov.uk on e-mail. Please pass this message on to staff in your PCT who need to know this. Michael hopes to keep all those who are working within PCTs on the health of asylum seekers informed both of developments within the Department and elsewhere, such as the reforms of the asylum system being led by the Home Office. He also hopes to foster closer working between all those involved with the dispersal process. Michael's colleague, Ian Copestake, is currently contacting all PCTs to identify contacts who cover the health of asylum seekers as part of their work remit. If Ian has not yet made contact with your PCT lead person for this issue they should send their contact details to Ian.Copestake@doh.gsi.gov.uk on e-mail. 7. General Ophthalmic Services: Increase in Sight Test Fees The letter below informs strategic health authorities, NHS Trusts, PCTs, optometrists and ophthalmic medical practitioners of an increase of 4% in the NHS sight test fee with effect from 1 April 2002. A Determination of the sight test fee on behalf of the Secretary of State is annexed to the letter. Strategic Health Authorities and Trusts are asked to:
The letter is available at www.doh.gov.uk/ophthalmicservices/feesapril02.htm Please direct any enquiries to John Canavan, Room 334A Wellington House, 135-155 Waterloo Road, London SE1 8UG. Tel 0207 972 3992. Fax 0207 972 3999 Email John.Canavan@doh.gsi.gov.uk 8. Patients’ Property And Disclaimers Please note that the following guidance on Patients’ Property has been withdrawn: ‘Patients in all hospitals should be warned that the hospital
authority cannot accept responsibility for cash or valuables not deposited
for safe custody.’
Notices warning patients that the Trust will not accept liability for property and cash not deposited for safe custody are widely used. However, sometimes such disclaimers may be inappropriate in a care setting. Following Shifting The Balance of Power, the decision whether to display disclaimers is now a matter for local determination.
The absence of disclaimers does not automatically mean that the Trust will accept all liability for missing property, just as the presence of disclaimers does not automatically mean that Trusts will not accept liability for property missing from patients.
Trusts have a duty of care to patients of diminished responsibility. Trusts may find it is appropriate to issue more positive notices encouraging vulnerable patients or those who care for them, to deposit cash and valuables with the Trust for safekeeping, and to update local guidance.
9. Extending Choice for Patients 'Following the publication of 'Extending Choice for Patients: Information and Advice on Establishing the Heart Surgery Scheme' (see CE Bulletin 107, 1-7 March), please see the letter from Roger Boyle, National Clinical Director for Heart Disease, replying to responses to the 'Information and Advice' document. The letter also contains details of additional revenue allocations for revascularisation in 2002-3. Letter can be found at: www.doh.gov.uk/extendingheartchoice/index.htm This will be of interest to:
10. National Directors of Primary Care and Older People to Visit all 28 Strategic Health Authorities Dr David Colin-Thome, National Director for Primary Care and Professor Ian Philp, National Director for Older People will be jointly visiting each Strategic Health Authority starting from July 2002. Visits will run through to February 2003. All Chief Executives of Strategic Health Authorities (StHAs) have been sent a letter from Dr David Colin-Thome and Professor Ian Philp by email on 23rd April 2002. The letter asks C/Es to nominate someone to make the necessary arrangements for the visits and it also explains the purpose and proposed format of the visit. A table with setting out the dates is attached to the letter. If you have not received the letter, or would like copy, please email veronica.monks@doh.gsi.gov.uk 11. SAFETY NOTICE - MDA SN2002(14) Damage to Battery Terminal Connectors in External Pacemakers This safety notice was issued on 23 April 2002 to NHS trusts, chief executives and National Care Standards Commission headquarters. As usual it was also issued to liaison officers of trusts and National Care Standards Commission headquarters 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: http://www.medical-devices.gov.uk Social Care Interest12. CI (2002)4 Social Services Performance "Star" Ratings At his speech to the social services conference in October 2001, the Secretary of State Alan Milburn announced that we would be introducing social services performance 'star' ratings, to be based on an assessment of all the available evidence. The first star ratings are to be published in May 2002 based on the performance assessment round currently under way. This Chief Inspector's letter covers guidance which describes how star ratings will be produced and presented, and how they link with the Comprehensive Performance Assessment to be introduced for all local government services following the local government white paper. The CI letter and guidance can be found at www.doh.gov.uk/pssratings/guidance Ref. Will be mailed to Chairs and Finance Directors of Local Authority Social Services. 13. Mental Health Supplementary Credit Approval (MHSCA) 2000-2002 This letter requests that councils in receipt of a MHSCA for 2000-2002 submit a return detailing how much of that MHSCA was used (deadline 7 June) and submit an evaluation report detailing how the MHSCA was used and the outcomes of the projects (deadline 2 August). Contact for queries: andrea.drummond@doh.gsi.gov.uk 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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