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Chief Executive Bulletin
Contents:NHS and social care interest 1. Trading fund for the Medicines and Healthcare products
Regulatory Agency NHS interest 4. Urgent action regarding the distribution of MDA safety
warnings 13. Forecast of final out-turn for the mental health grant NHS and social care interest 1. Trading fund for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency The Medicines Control Agency and the Medical Devices Agency will merge from April 2003 to form a new agency. The new agency will be known as the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Its key objective will be to protect the health of the public by ensuring that medicines, healthcare products and medical equipment are safe. The Department of Health is carrying out a consultation exercise until 15 January 2003 on whether the MHRA should operate under a trading fund. A trading fund is a financing framework for government operations, covering operating costs and receipts, capital expenditure, borrowing and net cash flow, which gives an agency greater freedom to manage its financial affairs than if its costs are met by its parent Department. The Medicines Control Agency already operates a trading fund, but the Medical Devices Agency does not. The consultation letter and a draft trading fund order (which will have to be approved by parliament before it can be brought into operation) are available on the Department of Health web site at www.doh.gov.uk/mhraconsult/index.htm. The consultation letter includes contact details for submitting comments. For further information contact Georgina Fletcher-Cooke on 020 7210 5008 or georgina.fletcher-cooke@doh.gsi.gov.uk Top2. The Integrated Care Network The Integrated Care Network was launched on 24 October at a conference hosted by health minister Jacqui Smith. Some 250 delegates attended from the NHS and local authorities and were addressed by speakers with expertise in integration at political, strategic and operational levels. The network will provide support to those wishing to integrate working between local authorities and the NHS. The users of the network may be frontline organisations or those with a responsibility to support frontline organisations such as strategic health authorities. The experience of the network will inform the development of government policy. The network will provide:
(The next national meeting will be held in London in January. The web site will be launched shortly.) The network will draw upon the expertise of:
If you would like to receive updates on the network please send your details (name, post title, organisation, email address and telephone number) to mbicn@doh.gsi.gov.uk or contact the network's project managers - Shane Giles on 0113 254 3804 or Jeremy Hallett on 07884 473443. Top3. Conference - Working together to prevent the next generation of problem drug users This conference will focus on how substance misuse services for vulnerable young people can be delivered and commissioned within the context of children's service planning and according to evidence based good practice. It is the second national two-day residential conference on young people and substance misuse intended for all those working with and for young people. Organised and hosted by DrugScope and the Home Office with support from the Department of Health, the Department of Education and Skills, Youth Justice Board and the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse. For further information email conferences@drugscope.org.uk or telephone 020 7922 8691. www.doh.gov.uk/cebulletin/drugscopeconf.htm TopNHS interest 4. Urgent action regarding the distribution of MDA safety warnings For the attention of chief executives of all NHS trusts. At MDA's annual conference in September, Lord Hunt made it clear that he expected every part of the health service to give the highest priority to distributing safety information and taking appropriate effective action. He said: "We cannot tolerate delays in distributing vital safety information." All recipients of MDA safety warnings are expected to arrange distribution to relevant staff in accordance with the specified urgency. Lord Hunt has asked MDA to obtain confirmation from each NHS trust chief executive that they have in place effective arrangements for MDA safety warnings to be brought to the attention of relevant staff and actioned promptly. This action is in line with the existing requirements of the Medical Devices Management Controls Assurance Standard, criterion 21. A suitable declaration can be found at www.medical-devices.gov.uk under 'risk management assurance statement' on the MDA home page. Please complete and return the declaration, preferably by e-mail, to
Statements should be returned to MDA by 29 November 2002. For further information contact:
5. Health and neighbourhood renewal: Guidance from the Department of Health and the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit Health and Neighbourhood Renewal: Guidance from the Department of Health and the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit was published on 31 October 2002. This is an update of New Deal for Communities: Guidance from the Department of Health published in October 2000. The National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal identified tackling poor health as a priority area for action in narrowing the gap between deprived neighbourhoods and the rest of the country. The guide is an important contribution supporting and encouraging this by providing an introduction to heath issues for all partnerships and individuals working in neighbourhood renewal and wider regeneration programmes. Although aimed primarily at partnerships and individuals whose area of expertise is not health, those working directly in the health field will also wish to be aware that this guidance has been published. The guidance can be found at www.doh.gov.uk/healthinequalities/healthandneighbourhood.htm For more information contact Michelle Wiseman on 020 7972 4088 or michelle.wiseman@doh.gsi.gov.uk Top6. Dental lists: amendment to procedure for checking dentists' declarations The catch-up exercise for dentists who are already on a dental list does not need to include requests for General Dental Council (GDC) histories. It has therefore been decided to remove the requirement for PCTs to check the part of such a dentist's declaration which refers to investigation by the regulatory body, unless there is reason to doubt the dentist's statement. This note amends the guidance on the management of dental lists laid out in the document New guidance to HAs and PCTs on the management of dental lists (Jan 2002) which can be found at www.doh.gov.uk/pclists/dentalguidance.pdf or at www.doh.gov.uk/dental/index.htm under the section 'fees, remuneration, terms and conditions of employment' (The guidance itself will be changed shortly, at the same time as it is amended to take account of supplementary lists). This will bring the dental guidance in line with the current medical guidance which is to be found at www.doh.gov.uk/pclists/advice.htm or at www.doh.gov.uk/pclists/index.htm under 'advice on implementation' - it is the first document listed below 'General Medical Services'. This relaxation does not apply to the continuing need to check the declarations of new dentists wishing to join a list. The GDC has had to return some requests for confirmation of dentists' declarations because they do not conform to its legal obligations and policy on disclosure of information. Details of the GDC's requirements are at www.gdc-uk.org/gdc_checks.html Requests which comply with GDC guidance will be processed more quickly. Please note that the GDC's response to PCTs will be by way of a standard letter. PCTs may find it convenient to consult the GDC guidance notes at www.gdcuk.org/gdc_checks.html when preparing a declaration for dentists to sign as part of their application to join a list. For further information contact Peter Martin on 020 7972 3990 or peter.martin@doh.gsi.gov.uk Top7. New guidance from NICE The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has recently issued
the following guidance to the NHS.
Inherited clinical guidelines:
For more information contact Lucy Betterton at lucy.betterton@nice.nhs.uk Top8. Chief Executives Information Forum The Chief Executives Information Forum (CEIF) has represented chief executives views, advice and input to the NHS information and IT agenda for the last four years. It was previously chaired by Richard Gibbs and has been influential in achieving the significant policy change resulting in the strategy document Delivering 21st Century IT Support for the NHS. It is now time to re-constitute this forum with a new membership. As you are aware this strategy is a vital component of delivering the NHS Plan and modernisation agenda. You are invited to join a workshop on 9 December 2002 in London at which the future role of the CEIF Forum will be discussed and membership agreed. The CEIF has always been a representative body but in principal we are now looking for chief executives who wish to support the development of the new corporate NHS relationship with IT suppliers, advise on the realisation of benefits and progress the forum's role in influencing the modernisation/change agenda. These matters, along with funding for the information and IT agenda, will be discussed. It is also an opportunity to meet the new director general of NHS IT Richard Granger and hear his ideas for the future as well as sharing your views with him. The venue for the workshop is Regents College, Conference Centre, Inner Circle, Regents Park, London NW1 4NS, Room J commencing at 10.30 for 11am finishing at approximately 3pm (lunch will be provided) Please email sharon.lecocq@kpct.nhs.uk to book your place at the workshop. Top9. Appraisal and Evaluation in Central Government - the 'Green Book' Treasury are in the process of updating their guidance on best practise in the appraisal and evaluation of policies and projects. This guidance is contained in Appraisal and Evaluation in Central Government, also known as the 'Green Book'. Treasury consulted on the changes outlined in the draft Green Book over the summer. Following consideration of the issues raised during consultation, Treasury will publish final guidance in the New Year. The main changes in the new draft Green Book are:
A note providing more detail on the new Green Book and guidance on transitional issues has been posted on the Department's web site at www.doh.gov.uk/cebulletin/greenbook.htm This note also provides a link to the Treasury web site that provides access to all the consultation material. For further information contact Andrew Jackson on 0113 254 5583 or andrew.jackson@doh.gsi.gov.uk Top10. Medical devices agency alert - MDA DA2002(11). SynchroMed® implantable drug pump: risk of medication. Errors due to inaccurate listing of intrathecal drugs This device alert was issued on 31 October 2002 to NHS trusts, chief executives and national care Standards Commission head quarters. As usual it was also faxed to liaison officers of trusts and National Care Standards Commission for action and onward distribution as specified in the notice. For further information on the role and nomination of liaison officers e-mail the MDA at: bs@medical-devices.gov.uk http://www.medical-devices.gov.uk Top11. National Joint Registry - collection of levy The National Joint Registry (NJR) will collect information on hip and knee implants. In its establishment phase the NJR is being funded directly by the Department of Health. From April 2003, the NJR will be funded by a levy placed on the sale of hip and knee implants. Following discussions with the Association of British Healthcare Industries (ABHI), it has been agreed that the ABHI will collect the levy. It will apply to the acetabular component for hips (where the acetabular component is modular, it will be on the metal outer shell or other major cup component), and the femoral component for knees. One of the functions of the NJR steering committee is to set the levy on an annual basis. While it intends to set the levy as early as possible in future years it was not possible for 2003/04. The steering committee recognises that trusts are going through the SAFF process and will need to budget for this. It has therefore decided to provide an estimate of the levy for 2003/04 - £25.00 per levied implant should be used. Trusts will be informed as soon as a firm figure is known, which will be around January 2003. For general queries about the NJR, contact Paul Woods at paul.woods@doh.gsi.gov.uk or 020 7972 4811. Further information on the NJR can be found at www.njrcentre.org.uk Top12. PCT reports on practitioner list management decisions For patient safety reasons, the law requires PCTs to share information with the Family Health Services Appeal Authority (Special Health Authority) when they refuse admission, conditionally include, remove, conditionally remove, or suspend a person or body corporate from any of their practitioner lists. There is reason to think that not all PCTs (and predecessor HAs) have complied with the requirement. For this reason, PCT chief executives are asked to review their PCT's notification procedures, and to arrange for:
Replies are requested by 30 November 2002. They should be sent to the FHSAA(SHA) at 30 Victoria Avenue, Harrogate HG1 5PR. For more information contact Chris Walker on 0113 254 6345 or visit www.doh.gov.uk/pclists/new.htm TopSocial care interest 13. Forecast of final out-turn for the mental health grant All councils with social services responsibility (CSSRs) are asked to assess their expected use of the mental health grant for the current financial year. This is to be done by completing the Forecast of Final Out-turn form due back no later than Friday 6 December 2002. This form can be found in the HSC 2002/002:LAC (2002)3 on page 13 All CSSRs are invited to bid for surplus resources, which must be used on projects in line with the mental health grant terms and conditions, as found in the circular above. All bids must be returned no later than Wednesday 18 December 2002. Please also note the new address for the National Institute for Mental
Health in England: For further information contact Helen Scaman at helen.scaman@doh.gsi.gov.uk
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