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Chief
Executive Bulletin 19 - 25 October 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 Professionals
- The Co-ordinated NHS-led Approach to Temporary Staffing NHS and Social Care interest 6. The General
Practitioner Recruitment, Retention and Vacancy Survey 2001 England &
Wales
Social Care interest 9. The Abolition
of Preserved Rights: Consultation on Guidance and Regulations NHS interest 1. NHS Professionals
- The Co-Ordinated NHS-Led Approach To Temporary Staffing An electronic .pdf copy of
the guidance is available via the Improving Working Lives website http://www.doh.gov.uk/iwl/nhsprofessionals.pdf,
with hard copies available from the NHS response line on 08701 555 455,
quoting reference 25532. Regional Offices are currently
in the process of formulating implementation plans for the roll-out of
NHS Professionals so please contact the NHS Professionals Lead for your
region for further information 2. Out Of Area Treatment Adjustment And Specialised Services 2002/0 On 13 September Sheila Adam, Director of Policy, wrote to Chief Executives and Finance Directors of NHS Trusts, copied to Chief Executives of Health Authorities, Primary Care Groups and Trusts and to Regional Specialised Commissioning Group Chairs setting out the policy on specialised services and the Out of Area Treatment Adjustment. The letter was attached to the Chief Executives' Bulletin for 7-13 September 2001. It contained the following statement: "For 2002-03, all specialised services (elective and emergency services) will be removed from the national OATs matrix, with no de minimus/materiality threshold, and should be incorporated in service agreements. The National Specialised Services Definitions Set should form the basis for all discussions regarding which services should be treated as specialised". A second letter offering further guidance for Regional Specialised Commissioning Groups (RSCGs), Health Authorities, Primary Care organisations and NHS Trusts on actions necessary to implement the policy outlined above is available on the Department's POINT database. 3. Charges For Access to Health Records under the Data Protection Act 1998 The purpose of this note is to inform you that the charges levied by the NHS for providing individuals with access to their health records after 24th October 2001 will continue at current levels for the time being. This means that the maximum fee that can be levied is £10 for records held on computer and £50 for paper records or other media. Over the past year the Government has been working with key groups, including representatives from the NHS and patient interests, to evaluate the charges that are levied under the Data Protection Act 1998 for providing individuals with copies of their health records. The issue has been to strike a balance between ensuring that cost is not a barrier to individuals requesting access to their health records and allowing the NHS to recoup costs incurred in servicing requests, so that essential resources are not diverted from providing direct patient care. This is a difficult balance to strike, but a Department of Health led review of the current charges established that the present arrangement provides an acceptable compromise given current technology and record keeping practice. The Government is committed to continuing discussions with key interest groups and to working closely with the Information Commissioner with the aim of achieving a long-term solution. Further information about access to health records issues can be found at: http://www.doh.gov.uk/nhsexipu/confiden/index.htm The Reforming Emergency Care Report was published on Thursday 25 October and provides the first steps to a new approach in reforming emergency care in the NHS. It looks at the problems and solutions to providing emergency care and how emergency care can be improved for the benefit of patients and staff. The report is available on both the DH and NHS websites. The addresses are as follows: http://www.doh.gov.uk/capacityplanning/reform.htm and http://nww.doh.nhsweb.nhs.uk/capacityplanning/reform.htm Ref:25635 5. Microsoft Software Agreement Benefits All NHS Organisations The NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (PASA) and the Department of Health have just negotiated an Enterprise Agreement to provide the most recent version of selected Microsoft office applications to the NHS for a period of three years. This will mean that NHS organisations will no longer be required to enter into a separate licence agreement to use these products. The costs for this Enterprise Agreement will be met centrally. The cost savings for the NHS will be considerable. To properly manage this agreement and ensure value for money, the current and anticipated use of Microsoft products in NHS organisations to March 2002 needs to be accounted for. Each Health Authority and NHS Trust will need to complete a short online questionnaire to declare their organisation's current and potential use of the these products. All declarations should be submitted by 21 November 2001. For further information please see the PASA website at http://nww.pasa.nhs.uk/itservices/shared/ The online declaration form and more information on the data collection requirements is at http://nww.nhsia.nhs.uk/nhsnet/pages/using/enterprise.asp NHS / Social Care interest 6. The 'General Practitioner Recruitment, Retention And Vacancy Survey 2001 England & Wales' The Department of Health's annual survey assessing the general recruitment position for GPs can be found at: http://www.doh.gov.uk/stats/gprrvsurvey2001.htm 7. National Medicines Management Services Collaborative Programme - Second Wave Primary Care Groups and Trusts are invited to apply to be a second wave site for the National Medicines Management Services (MMS) Collaborative Programme which will begin in April 2002. This programme is to help meet the commitments in the NHS Plan and Pharmacy in the Future - Implementing the NHS Plan for every PCG/T to have such schemes by 2004. As with the first wave launched in July, the second wave of up to 50 sites will be supported by funding from the Department and by the Project Team based at the National Prescribing Centre (NPC). Sites chosen for the second wave will recruit local facilitators to work closely with local GPs, pharmacists and primary healthcare teams to re-shape local services to meet the needs of patients and ensure value for money for the NHS. Further waves are planned for the future. The Project Team is writing to all PCG/T and HA Chief Executives and prescribing advisers with more details. This letter, further guidance on the MMS programme and the application form will be on the NPC website at http://www.npc.co.uk/medicine_mangmt.htm from Monday 29th October. Potential applicants are asked to let RO leads know of their interest in applying by Wednesday 21 November. Completed applications should
be returned by 12.00 mid-day Friday 14th December 2001 to The e-mail address for applications is: npc-mms@liverpool-ha.nhs.uk For further information about the collaborative programme or applying, telephone the Project Team (0151 794 8028/8131) or e-mail Richard.Seal@liverpool-ha.nhs.uk. For information about the Government's NHS pharmacy programme, telephone Peter Dunlevy (0207 210 5822) or e-mail peter.dunlevy@doh.gsi.gov.uk. 8. Annual Pay Reviews for Practice Nurses The Secretary of State for Health attaches particular importance to ensuring that the role of practice nurses is appropriately recognised in their employment agreements. The Department of Health is asking HAs/PCT/Gs and GP practices to make provision for the proper and fair reward of practice nurses through the uplift of practice nurses' pay in line with the recommendations of the Nurses Pay Review Body. A letter from the Director of Primary Care to Chief Executives is available at http://www.doh.gov.uk/pricare/practicenursepay. This is a joint initiative with the BMA and the letter to Chief Executives encloses a copy of a letter which the BMA's General Practitioners Committee is sending to Local Medical Committees. The letter also encloses two statutory directions. These confirm existing GMS expenditure floor requirements and the requirement for HAs to consult LMCs before approving PCTs' or PCGs' draft Primary Care Investment Plans (PCIPs). These directions confirm and formalise arrangements which are explained in the annual Exposition Book. The directions are also available on the Department of Health Website at http://www.doh.gov.uk/pricare/practicenursepay/directions.pdf If you require further information please contact Katie Cusick on 0113 254 5850 or email katie.cusick@doh.gsi.gov.uk Social Care Interest 9. The Abolition of Preserved Rights: Consultation On Guidance And Regulations As announced in paragraph 2.29 of The NHS Plan: The Government's response to the Royal Commission on Long Term Care, the preserved rights scheme is to be abolished. From 8 April next year, responsibility for the care assessment, management and (subject to means) funding of everyone with preserved rights will pass to local authority social services departments. The Department of Health will shortly issue statutory guidance to local authorities on how to implement the new arrangements. We are currently seeking views on the content of a draft of the guidance. We are also seeking views on the content of a draft of the regulations that will need to be introduced to accommodate the change. Comments have been invited directly from a range of organisations and other parties with an interest in this issue. However, copies of the draft guidance and the draft regulations have not been sent to individual local authorities. The material is available at http://www.doh.gov.uk/scg/preservedrights.htm Any local authority that wishes to comment on the drafts should ensure that their views reach the Department - at the addresses quoted - by Thursday, 15 November at the latest. 10. The National Assistance (Residential Accommodation) (Additional Payments) (England) Regulations 2001 - New Regulations LAC(2001)29 The purpose of LAC(2001)29 is to explain new regulations that have the effect of broadening the resources that residents may use to make top-up payments from their own resources. The regulations will also correct an error with respect to residents who have accessed the 12 weeks property disregard. The new regulations repeat the provisions set out in the National Assistance (Residential Accommodation) (Additional Payments) (England) Regulations) 2001 concerning third-party top-ups and liable relatives who are making maintenance contributions, and the Choice of Accommodation Directions 1992. They insert a new regulation into the National Assistance (Assessment of Resources) Regulations 1992 to the effect that the resident top-ups shall be treated as part of the resident's income. The National Assistance (Residential Accommodation) (Additional Payments) (England) Regulations 2001 are revoked. The new regulations come into force from Wednesday 24 October. Back to Top
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 PagePublished by the
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