A-Z
site index | Search
| Links
|
Contact
DH | Help
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Medical
directors' bulletin: March 2002 Issue 9
Welcome to the latest edition of the bulletin for Medical Directors. It provides a practical summary of the latest developments in the implementation of the NHS Plan and in your area of work in the NHS - keeping you up to date as well as providing access points for further information. Please help us make this bulletin as useful as possible by telling us of any improvements you'd like to see. Please send feedback to jgrahao@doh.gsi.gov.uk ContentsN.B. Items marked * have not previously appeared in other Department of Health bulletins.
Medical directors and the Older People's National Service FrameworkGuest editorial from Professor Ian Philp, National Director for Older People's Services The National Service Framework for older people's services was published a year ago. It will affect the activities of most practitioners and managers in the NHS, as well as the social care of older people, which includes the work of half a million people in the independent sector. How can medical directors add value to the implementation? I suggest there are two areas where they can make a significant impact. First, I hope most medical directors will be passionate advocates for the Older People's NSF on Trust Boards. If we deliver the NSF for older people, we will have gone a long way to restoring the reputation of our NHS as one of the best in the world. Older people use 46% of NHS resource and 50% of social care resource: getting services right for older people will translate into getting services right for everyone. Secondly, medical directors could encourage a focus on implementing the NSF for older people in the development of their clinical governance programmes. In Sheffield, for example, our older people's clinical governance committee examined the care of older people in the hospital in relation to specific topics, such as falls, Parkinson's disease and drug reactions. For each, we explored service quality in relation to five dimensions of clinical governance: patient involvement, risk management, service availability, underpinning audit and information systems, and staff development. The systematic, multi-disciplinary approach helped to give consistency to our efforts to improve quality of care. The NSFs provide a systematic approach for improving quality in health and social care. So too does clinical governance. I hope medical directors will help to make the link. The NSF for Older People is at www.doh.gov.uk/nsf/olderpeople.htm NHS International Fellowship SchemeA new NHS International Fellowship Scheme was launched last month. It offers medical specialists from outside the UK two-year fellowships, working at consultant level in the NHS. Adverts for the first round of fellowships are being run internationally, with a closing date for applications of 30 April. The specialties to be covered in the first round are cardiothoracic surgery, histopathology, psychiatry and radiology. The Department of Health will pay for the cost of the recruitment process and for an attractive relocation package for the fellows. For further information see www.doh.gov.uk/international-recruitment Contacts: Catherine Jenkins, 0113 254 5721, email catherine.jenkins@doh.gsi.gov.uk Louise Hales, 0113 254 5889, email louise.hales@doh.gsi.gov.uk Overseas recruitment The Department of Health has received a good response to the advertisements it placed last September to attract consultants and GPs from around the world to the NHS. The department is currently helping suitable candidates through the registration process, and identifying vacant posts for them in the NHS. Employers who would like to access the pool of doctors interested in working here should complete the form at www.doh.gov.uk/international-recruitment Improving Working Lives for Doctors conferenceThursday 18 April, Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Westminster 10am-4pm This conference will provide the opportunity to follow up the debate and demonstrate progress following the Improving Working Lives for Doctors summit in January. Delegates will hear from the new doctors' forum and learn how the £1 million for Improving Working Lives for Doctors is being spent. They will also have the chance to share in open discussion and take part in workshops. The day will cover the following themes:
To book your place, call the conference hotline on 020 8334 4525. Further information on Improving Working Lives is at www.doh.gov.uk/iwl Changes to abortion notification form HSA4The abortion notification form HAS4 is being amended and will be issued for use in England from 15 April, subject to legislation. The changes follow a consultation with the NHS, private sector and other organisations. Key changes are:
Each NHS Trust medical director will receive 500 copies of the new form near the end of March, together with copies of a detailed response to the consultation; the new regulations; and a guidance note on completing the form. At that time, the consultation response and guidance note will also be available at www.doh.gov.uk/hsa4/index.htm Further supplies of the new form should be ordered as necessary (contact details are on the back of the form). All old versions should be destroyed. Please alert others in your organisation who may be affected. If you have any immediate queries about this change, please email HSA4@doh.gsi.gov.uk Occupational Health Smart Cards for doctors in trainingOperating protocols have been published for implementing the new Occupational Health ‘smart card' scheme for junior doctors. See www.doh.gov.uk/occupationalhealth/index.htm As set out in January's bulletin, the scheme will rollout across the 14 English postgraduate deaneries between now and March 2004, starting this year with London and Kent/Surrey/Sussex. Information strategy for older peopleOn 6 March the Department of Health published an information strategy to support the Older People's National Service Framework and the NHS Plan. Building on the wider Information for Health and Information for Social Care, the strategy identifies the information infrastructure, systems and services required to deliver the older people programme. Further details of the older people's strategy can be found at www.doh.gov.uk/ipu/strategy/nsf/4.htm Extending Choice for Patients: heart surgery schemeFrom 1 July, the pilot scheme for extending choice to heart surgery patients is launched. A new document (www.doh.gov.uk/extendingheartchoice/index.htm) describes how the pilot will operate at local and national level, and sets out information and advice for the NHS. The document provides a basis for commissioners and cardiac networks to start planning services, using the £100m funding announced on 6 March. However, the Department of Health would welcome comments on the arrangements, so that more definitive advice can be published shortly. Contact: Gavin.Larner@doh.gsi.gov.uk Selection of topics for NICE: consultation paperA new consultation paper has been issued on the selection and timing of topics for appraisal by NICE. The paper
The consultation paper is at www.doh.gov.uk/nice/consultation2002 Replies should be sent to Peter Burgin at peter.burgin@doh.gsi.gov.uk, to arrive by Friday 7 June. Prescription charges: prepayment, maternity and medical exemption certificatesFrom 1 October 2002, the Prescription Pricing Authority will take over responsibility for issuing prescription pre-payment certificates, medical and maternity certificates for England. Income generation: revised adviceGuidance about pricing commercial R&D has recently been revised in the light of the Pharmaceutical Industry Competitiveness Task Force report. The guidance restates that income from commercial R&D is collected under income generation powers. In response to some reported inconsistencies in pricing, it clarifies how to apply the principles of guidance on costing, and sets out which costs may be legitimately passed on to industry. The guidance is at nww.doh.nhsweb.nhs.uk/nhs/finman.htm Enquiries about the policy for commercial R&D should be addressed to Keith Preece at keith.preece@doh.gsi.gov.uk More general enquiries about income generation should be addressed to Tracy Morton at tracy.morton@doh.gsi.gov.uk Online intelligence on demandA website has been launched to help hospital managers anticipate demand and plan capacity. The Hospital Operational Intelligence System is available on NHSnet. It provides Sitrep (situation reports) information on demand, capacity and service response for any trust, health authority or NHS region, as well as nationally. Easy to access and up-to-date, it allows users to analyse activity, and to compare their performance against neighbouring or comparable organisations. The system is available via NHSNet at http://194.189.27.190/hoip/hoip.nsf/main?readform&login=1 Your information department may have username and password details. If not, Sitrep contacts at health authorities should be able to help. Or phone Judith Clarke on 0113 254 6585. Action on Dermatology regional eventsThe Action On team is hosting a series of eight regional dermatology events during April and May. These will provide an opportunity to hear about and discuss the work and achievements of the Action On Dermatology pilot sites, and for networking within the local dermatology community. Programme and cover letter: www.modern.nhs.uk/serviceimprovement/1339/4931/5060/Prog_and_Cover_Note.doc Registration form: www.modern.nhs.uk/serviceimprovement/1339/4931/5060/Registration_form.doc Retained Organs Commission: consultationThe Retained Organs Commission has published a consultation document on the management and custodianship of human organs and tissue removed during post mortem examinations. In particular, the Commission is seeking views about the respectful use and disposal of unclaimed and unidentifiable organs and tissue; and a possible framework for regulating museums, archives and collections of human organs and tissue. Responses are sought by 10 June 2002. The document is at www.nhs.uk/retainedorgans/index.htm Contact: retained-organs-commission@doh.gsi.gov.uk Postal address: PO Box 32794, Elephant & Castle, London SE1 6WA Fax: 0207 972 2017 Helpline: 0800 092 0203 Modernising the NHS supply chainThe NHS Logistics Authority is carrying out a strategic review of NHS supply chain management. See nww.logistics.nhs.uk/documents/stratreview/info.doc To contribute, or to find out more, contact Michael Wood, project manager, on 01773 724260 or email michael.wood@logistics.nhs.uk Prostate cancer risk management programmeThe Prostate Cancer Risk Management Programme has been established to ensure that men considering a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test for prostate cancer are given information on the benefits, limitations and risks associated with receiving a test. GPs will shortly receive evidence-based materials, produced to ensure informed choice. Other initiatives include a quality standard for PSA testing, and a standardised follow-up for individuals whose test result is above the threshold. Caldicott returns for 2001/2New reporting arrangements for the collection of Caldicott Returns from NHS organisations are set out at www.doh.gov.uk/ipu/confiden/guard/cgreturns.pdf Diabetes National Standards FrameworkThe Diabetes National Service Framework: Standards was published last December. The Diabetes NSF Implementation Group is now developing the delivery strategy and is consulting on what the strategy should contain. The group would value feedback on the NSF: Standards and what its vision of a patient-centred diabetes service should look like in reality. It would also appreciate views on how we can best use the opportunities provided by the shifting balance of power in the NHS to create and use levers for real change. The Implementation Group is consulting specifically on service models, performance indicators and practice-based registers. Drafts of these were published with the Diabetes NSF: Standards on the Diabetes NSF website http://www.doh.gov.uk/nsf/diabetes The consultation documents are at www.doh.gov.uk/nsf/diabetes/consult/consult.htm NHS performance indicatorsThe third set of NHS performance indicators - and the first to include a full range of indicators for NHS hospital trusts - were published last month. Summary reports on the performance of health authorities and NHS hospital trusts are available at www.doh.gov.uk/nhsperformanceindicators/2002/index.html Welfare to Work joint investment plansThe Nuffield Institute for Health has published a report on best practice by NHS and local authority organisations in producing Welfare to Work joint investment plans for disabled people. See www.doh.gov.uk/jointunit/updatefuturewelfare.htm The New NHS - 2001 reference costsThe unit costs of NHS treatments and procedures are set out in a new document - part of the overall framework to help ensure that the NHS makes the best use of its increased investment to deliver high-quality and cost-effective services. The coverage of services in this report has been extended from the 2000 report. Details are at www.doh.gov.uk/nhsexec/refcosts.htm Operating theatre and pre-operative assessmentA new programme aims to spread good practice developed by the NHS Modernisation Agency's theatre and pre-operative assessment projects. Funding of £8.5 million has been made available over two years to support NHS Trusts in implementing the Agency's guidance and significantly reducing cancelled operations. All Trusts will receive incentive funding of £25,000 to £30,000. Further support for full-time project management and clinical leadership will be available to Trusts with zero or one stars in the performance indicators, and to two-star Trusts that significantly underachieved on cancelled operations. Further details can be obtained by emailing Jacqueline.Lloyd@npat.nhs.uk Police checksThe Criminal Records Bureau started its disclosure service on 1 March. Guidance for NHS employers, including details of new procedures for obtaining a police check, is at www.crb.gov.uk Copying letters to patientsThe draft report of the Working Group on copying clinicians' letters to patients has been sent to the Department of Health. Guidelines are expected to be produced by the summer, and NHS organisations will then be encouraged to undertake pilot projects, with full implementation expected by April 2004. Further information at www.doh.gov.uk/patientletters Modernisation of hearing aid services 2002/3Trusts have been invited to express an interest in taking part in the second wave of the Modernising Hearing Aid Services pilot scheme to provide leading-edge digital hearing aids. £20 million will be invested in 2002/3, which will allow at least a further 30 sites to join the scheme. For further details, contact the project office on 020 7296 8022. Letter - Modernisation of hearing aid services 2002/03 NHS workforce censusResults of the three NHS workforce censuses, which show NHS hospital, community and general practice staff numbers at 30 September 2001, are available at www.doh.gov.uk/public/nhsworkforce.htm Re-banding of training grade postsThe Department of Health and the BMA have reached agreement on a standard protocol to be used when the re-banding of junior medical staff posts is carried out. See www.doh.gov.uk/juniordoctors/rebandingprotocol.htm Safety alertsThe following safety notices have been issued recently by the Medical Devices Agency. Full details at http://www.medical-devices.gov.uk
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
You
are here: 
