A study examined the different ways in which women and men accessed health services, with a view to providing an evidence base to help determine key gender health priorities for the government and the National Health Service.
Source: The Gender and Access to Health Services Study: Final Report, Department of Health (web publication only)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Dec
An article examined findings from a national evaluation of intermediate care, focusing on the relationship between hospital services and intermediate care. It raised questions about the extent to which intermediate care would be able to rebalance the existing health and social care system, and make a substantial contribution to tackling concerns about emergency hospital admissions and delayed transfers of care.
Source: Jon Glasby, Graham Martin and Emma Regen, 'Older people and the relationship between hospital services and intermediate care: results from a national evaluation', Journal of Interprofessional Care, Volume 22 Issue 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Dec
An article examined the views of practitioners and managers on the implementation of intermediate care for elderly people across England. Intermediate care did not appear to be achieving its full potential for alleviating pressure within health and social care systems. The strengthening of capacity and workforce, improvements to whole-systems working, and the promotion of intermediate care among doctors and other referrers were identified as key future priorities.
Source: Emma Regen et al., 'Challenges, benefits and weaknesses of intermediate care: results from five UK case study sites', Health and Social Care in the Community, Volume 16 Issue 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Dec
A report said that little hard evidence was available to suggest that outsourcing in the National Health Service had a positive impact on value-for-money or quality of care. Those responsible for implementing outsourcing policy saw it as being primarily driven by political will rather than evidence-based practice.
Source: Office for Public Management, Driven by Dogma? Outsourcing in the health service, Unison (0845 355 0845)
Links: Report | Unison press release
Date: 2008-Dec
The government published the National Health Service operating framework for 2009-10. The top five priorities were: improving standards of cleanliness, and tackling healthcare-associated infections; improving access to care through the achievement of the 18-week referral-to-treatment pledge, and improving access to family doctor services; improving the health of adults and children, and reducing health inequalities, by focusing on improving care for cancer and stroke, and paying particular attention to children's health, particularly in the most deprived areas of the country; improving patient experience, and staff satisfaction and engagement; and preparing to respond in a state of emergency, such as an outbreak of pandemic influenza.
Source: The Operating Framework for the NHS in England 2009/10, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Framework | DH press release | NHS Confederation press release | YoungMinds press release
Date: 2008-Dec
A report by a committee of MSPs called for better monitoring of the cost of free personal and nursing care. It highlighted the potential impact that demographic change and inflation could have on the sustainability of care provision in the future.
Source: Free Personal and Nursing Care, 4th Report 2008, SP Paper 183, Scottish Parliament Public Audit Committee, available from Blackwell's Bookshop (0131 622 8283)
Links: Report | SP press release | SG press release | BBC report | Community Care report
Date: 2008-Dec
The government announced (following publication of a review report) that National Health Service care would no longer be withdrawn from patients who chose to pay for additional private drug treatments. It said that although private care could be carried out alongside NHS care, private treatment should take place in a private facility and must not be subsidized by the NHS.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Debate 4 November 2008, columns 131-146, TSO (0870 600 5522) | Mike Richards, Improving Access to Medicines for NHS Patients, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Hansard | DH press release | Report | Kings Fund press release | Compass press release | BMA press release | Alzheimers Society press release | UNISON press release | Methodist Church press release | Liberal Democrats press release | BBC report | FT report | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2) | People Management report
Date: 2008-Nov
A think-tank report said that the National Institute for Clinical Excellence had managed to win political support across the mainstream parties, had been granted a substantial increase in its funding, and had taken on a wider range of responsibilities. Nevertheless, NICE continually faced new challenges, and there was a need to keep its evaluation processes under scrutiny.
Source: David Furness et al., Commissioning Healthcare, Social Market Foundation (020 7222 7060)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Oct
The government began consultation on proposals to improve the quality of care for children with complex, long-term health needs.
Source: Consultation on a National Framework for Assessing Children and Young People's Continuing Care, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Consultation document | DH press release | Community Care report
Date: 2008-Oct
The government published its response to a review that considered the burdens placed on local government as a result of its relationship with the Department of Health.
Source: Department of Health Commentary on Task Force Recommendations, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Response | Letter | Review report
Date: 2008-Oct
A report summarized the key findings from a group of 16 studies designed to inform and assess the implementation of the National Service Framework for Older People.
Source: Janet Askham, Health and Care Services for Older People: Overview report on research to support the National Service Framework for Older People, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Oct
An independent report evaluated the effectiveness of human rights-based approaches in five National Health Service organizations. It said that the evidence suggested that such approaches could be one way of achieving good practice in health and social care. The government published a revised framework for local action on human rights in healthcare.
Source: Ipsos MORI, Human Rights in Healthcare Evaluation: Final evaluation report, Department of Health (08701 555455) | Human Rights in Healthcare: A Framework for Local Action (2nd edition), Department of Health
Date: 2008-Oct
The government announced the extension of self-referral schemes for allied health services such as physiotherapy and podiatry. It published research that showed that self-referral to musculoskeletal physiotherapy resulted in patients accessing services more quickly; being more likely to complete their course of treatment and turn up for follow up appointments; a lower level of work absence; and a high level of satisfaction from patients, family doctors, and physiotherapists.
Source: Press release 21 October 2008, Department of Health (020 7210 4850) | Self-referral Pilots to Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy and the Implications for Improving Access to Other AHP Services, Department of Health (web publication only)
Links: DH press release | Report | CSP press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-Oct
A report by a committee of MPs said that National Health Service foundation trusts had performed well financially, and generated surpluses; they had also been high-performers in routine process quality measures. However, it was not clear whether their performance was the result of their changed status, or simply a continuation of long-term trends.
Source: Foundation Trusts and Monitor, Sixth Report (Session 2007-08), HC 833, House of Commons Health Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | NHS Alliance press release | BBC report
Date: 2008-Oct
A think-tank report said that the use of everyday technologies by the National Health Service, such as email and online booking systems, was 'poor'.
Source: Alasdair Liddell, Stephen Adshead and Ellen Burgess, Technology in the NHS: Transforming the patient's experience of care, King's Fund (020 7307 2591)
Links: Report | King's Fund press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Oct
An annual survey found that the faltering economic climate, together with further reductions in National Health Service waiting times, had in 2007 led to the first fall in private self-funded hospital treatment in recent years. But record spending by the NHS on hospital treatment for patients in private facilities contributed to a marginal increase in overall demand for medical treatment in private and voluntary hospitals.
Source: Laing's Healthcare Market Review: 21st Edition 2008/2009, Laing & Buisson (020 7833 9123)
Links: Table of contents | L&B press release | BBC report
Date: 2008-Oct
The Northern Ireland Executive announced plans to abolish prescription charges. The cost of a prescription would be reduced to £3 in January 2009, and would be free of charge by April 2010.
Source: Press release 29 September 2008, Northern Ireland Executive (028 9052 0500)
Links: NIE press release | RCPsych press release | BBC report | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-Sep
The Welsh Assembly government announced plans to simplify the National Health Service structure in Wales and meet its commitment to end the internal market. Consultation responses had supported the creation of single local health organizations that would be responsible for delivering all healthcare services within a geographical area, rather than the existing trust and local health board system.
Source: Press release 16 July 2008, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: WAG press release | WIHSC press release | BBC report
Date: 2008-Jul
The government published a strategy to improve care for the dying in England, including giving people more choice over where they died.
Source: End of Life Care Strategy: Promoting high quality care for all adults at the end of life, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Strategy | Summary | Hansard | DH press release | NHS Confederation press release | Kings Fund press release | Help the Aged press release | Alzheimers Society press release | RNHA press release | RCN press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Community Care report
Date: 2008-Jul
The government published a strategy setting out the future direction for primary and community care in England. It said that the new strategy would give patients and the public a stronger voice, enable them to make informed decisions, and have greater choice and control in managing their health and healthcare.
Source: Our Vision for Primary and Community Care, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Strategy | DH press release | Kings Fund press release | NHS Confederation press release | NHS Alliance press release | RCN press release | Turning Point press release | UNISON press release | RPSGB press release
Date: 2008-Jul
An article examined the demand for, and likely impact of, increasing patient choice in healthcare. Although patients might themselves make limited use of choices, the existence of choice might, in theory, stimulate providers to improve quality of care. Patients did, however, want to be more involved in individual decisions about their own treatment, and generally participated much less in these decisions than they would wish.
Source: Marianna Fotaki et al., 'What benefits will choice bring to patients? Literature review and assessment of implications', Journal of Health Services Research and Policy, Volume 13 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Jul
A report examined the impact of volunteering in the National Health Service.
Source: Simon Teasdale, Health Check: A practical guide to assessing the impact of volunteering in the NHS, Volunteering England (0845 305 6979)
Links: Report | Summary | Volunteering England press release
Date: 2008-Jul
A report by a committee of MPs sought to provide a set of criteria to which the health policies of the Department of Health and the Welsh Assembly Government should aspire, in order to meet the needs and expectations of cross-border patients. Rows over funding treatment for Welsh patients across the border had left some feeling like 'second-class citizens'.
Source: The Provision of Cross-border Health Services for Wales: Interim report, Sixth Report (Session 2007-08), HC 870, House of Commons Welsh Affairs Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | BBC report
Date: 2008-Jul
The government published a report setting out responses gathered from patients and public, staff, and other stakeholders during Lord Darzi's review of the National Health Service.
Source: Engagement Analysis: NHS Next Stage Review – What we heard from the 'Our NHS, Our Future' process, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Jul
A report examined the ways in which local authorities and their partners were making connexions between the 'place-shaping' and 'personalization' agendas. Local authorities and their partners saw both policy strands as being fundamentally about empowerment – at the community and individual levels respectively. It was not yet clear, however, to what extent this understanding was making a difference to the planning, commissioning, and delivery of public services
Source: Jane Carrier, Communities – Healthy, Strong and Prosperous: The links between the personalisation and place-shaping agendas in adult social care and health, Improvement and Development Agency (020 7296 6693)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Jul
A new book examined key philosophical, ethical, legal, and professional practice issues in the area of privacy and confidentiality in health and social services; and explored their implications for policy and practice.
Source: Chris Clark and Janice McGhee (eds.), Private and Confidential? Handling personal information in the social and health services, Policy Press, available from Marston Book Services (01235 465500)
Links: Summary
Date: 2008-Jul
The Welsh Assembly Government responded to a report by an Assembly Committee on delayed transfers of patients between hospital and social care.
Source: Response to the Report of the National Assembly Audit Committee on Delayed Transfers of Care, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Date: 2008-Jun
A think-tank report said that implementation of the shift of 'healthcare closer to home' remained patchy; and that there was confusion about the benefits it would achieve, and the impact it would have on traditional patterns of hospital-based care.
Source: Sarah Harvey and Laurie McMahon, Shifting the Balance of Care to Local Settings: The SeeSaw report, King's Fund (020 7307 2591)
Links: Report | King's Fund press release | Community Care report
Date: 2008-Jun
An article presented a new framework for examining centralization and decentralization in public services. It considered how the framework could be applied in a health context, and how the framework could help to avoid the problems found in previous discussions of decentralization.
Source: Stephen Peckham, Mark Exworthy, Martin Powell and Ian Greener, 'Decentralizing health services in the UK: a new conceptual framework', Public Administration, Volume 86 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Jun
An independent review report said that Health Commission Wales fell short of its fitness for purpose and should be replaced. There were fundamental flaws in the way Health Commission Wales was established, poor governance arrangements, and an unsound budget allocation. (Health Commission Wales was established as an executive agency of the Welsh Assembly Government in 2003, with a remit to commission specialized healthcare services which were not provided by National Health Service Trusts or Local Health Boards.)
Source: Mansel Aylward, Health Commission Wales: A Review, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: Report | NHS Wales press release | BBC report
Date: 2008-Jun
The government began consultation on proposals to improve support for volunteers in the National Health Service and in social care.
Source: Towards a Strategy to Support Volunteering in Health and Social Care: Consultation, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Consultation document | DH press release
Date: 2008-Jun
A report called for a major strengthening of arrangements to hold health services to account at local level.
Source: Who's Accountable for Health? LGA health commission final report, Local Government Association (020 7664 3000)
Links: Report | LGA press release | Kings Fund press release
Date: 2008-Jun
A think-tank report said that further devolution within the health service could help to improve service delivery. It said that local authorities should be given a more significant role in, and share more of their expertise with, local primary care trusts.
Source: Matthew Clifton, Healthy Places: Bonds that bind local government and primary care trusts, New Local Government Network (020 7357 0051)
Links: Report | NLGN press release
Date: 2008-Jun
A policy paper said that getting the balance right between competition and collaboration was vital if the next stage of National Health Service reform were to achieve real results. It set out four different types of integration: these ranged from incorporating family doctors and other primary care professionals into primary healthcare teams to integration that involved primary and community healthcare, hospital-based specialists, and social care providers.
Source: Chris Ham, Jon Glasby, Helen Parker and Judith Smith, Altogether Now? Policy options for integrated care, Health Services Management Centre/University of Birmingham (0121 414 7050)
Links: Paper | HSMC press release
Date: 2008-Jun
The Scottish Government published a Bill to promote public engagement in the health service. Elected health boards would make the National Health Service more accountable and responsive to the public by creating a greater sense of ownership and participation in decision-making.
Source: Health Boards (Membership and Elections) (Scotland) Bill, Scottish Government, available from Blackwell's Bookshop (0131 622 8283)
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Policy memorandum | SG press release | BMA press release
Date: 2008-Jun
An article examined the impact of new public management techniques on public trust in welfare state institutions, using the example of National Health Service reform. A comparison between perceptions in England (where the internal market had been vigorously pursued) and Scotland (where the purchaser/provider split had been discarded after devolution), indicated that the market did not offer a 'royal road' to perceptions of superior quality. Conversely, the more market-centred system could make progress in relation to the more 'subjective affectual' factors.
Source: Peter Taylor-Gooby, 'Trust and welfare state reform: the example of the NHS', Social Policy and Administration, Volume 42 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Jun
An article said that the central problems of examining governance change in the National Health Service were located in the changing relations between the state and the professionals it relied upon for the delivery of health services on the one hand, and its positioning of the users of public services on the other.
Source: Ian Greener and Martin Powell, 'The changing governance of the NHS: reform in a post-Keynesian health service', Human Relations, Volume 61 Number 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Jun
A think-tank report called for the community and their elected representatives to be given greater influence over the planning, delivery, and review of health services.
Source: Alyson Morley, Out of Our Control? The case for better health accountability, Local Government Information Unit (020 7554 2800)
Links: Report | LGIU press release
Date: 2008-Jun
A report set out the principles that would govern local service change in the National Health Service in the wake of a review led by Ara (Lord) Darzi. It made five pledges, which primary care trusts should have regard to: change would always be to the benefit of patients; change would be clinically driven; all change would be locally led; patients, carers, the public, and other key partners would be involved; and existing services would not be withdrawn until new and better services were available to patients.
Source: Ara Darzi, NHS Next Stage Review: Leading Local Change, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Report | Darzi Review press release | Hansard | DH press release | Kings Fund press release | NHS Confederation press release | NHS Alliance press release | RCN press release | BMA press release | Rethink press release | CRC press release | UNISON press release | Liberal Democrats press release | BBC report | Guardian report | FT report
Date: 2008-May
An audit report said that delivering the national programme for information technology in the National Health Service was proving to be an 'enormous challenge'. All elements of the programme were advancing and some were complete: but the original timescales for the electronic care records service, one of the central elements of the programme, turned out to be unachievable, raised unrealistic expectations, and put confidence in the programme at risk.
Source: The National Programme for IT in the NHS: Progress since 2006, HC 484 (Session 2007-08), National Audit Office, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report part 1 | Report part 2 | NAO press release | BMA press release | BBC report | Guardian report | FT report
Date: 2008-May
A new book said that creating more opportunities for patient choice would not improve healthcare. Good care was not a matter of making well-argued individual choices, but was something that grew out of collaboration and technological improvements.
Source: Annemarie Mol, The Logic of Care: Health and the problem of patient choice, Routledge (01264 343071)
Links: Summary
Date: 2008-May
A report said that there was no evidence of the so-called 'health tourist' who came to the United Kingdom seeking expensive treatment. Migrants and British citizens had similar health profiles, and migrants were no more likely to have expensive complicated medical needs than anyone else. Changes to health regulations which would prevent many migrants from getting access to the care of a family doctor would only result in greater costs, because there would be less chance of preventing diseases, less chance of early and affordable treatment of diseases (including those which were contagious), and increased pressure on already overburdened accident and emergency departments.
Source: Project London: Report and Recommendations 2007, M?decins du Monde UK (020 7515 7534)
Links: Report | MDM press release | Guardian report
Date: 2008-May
A new set of books examined partnership working between health and social care organizations.
Source: Jon Glasby and Helen Dickinson, Partnership Working in Health and Social Care, Policy Press, available from Marston Book Services (01235 465500) | Edward Peck and Helen Dickinson, Managing and Leading in Inter-agency Settings, Policy Press | John Carpenter and Helen Dickinson, Interprofessional Education and Training, Policy Press | Kim Jelphs and Helen Dickinson, Working in Teams, Policy Press | Helen Dickinson, Evaluating Outcomes in Health and Social Care, Policy Press
Links: Summary (Glasby) | Summary (Peck) | Summary (Carpenter) | Summary (Jelphs) | Summary (Dickinson)
Date: 2008-May
A literature review examined the effect of financial incentives on the behaviour of healthcare organizations and individuals with respect to the quality of care they delivered to consumers. The findings from studies were mixed: relatively few significant impacts were reported.
Source: Jon Christianson, Sheila Leatherman and Kim Sutherland, Financial Incentives, Healthcare Providers and Quality Improvements, Health Foundation (020 7257 8000)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-May
An article examined the autonomy or 'room for manoeuvre' of local organizations within local health economies in England, with specific reference to primary care trusts.
Source: Mark Exworthy and Francesca Frosini, 'Room for manoeuvre? Explaining local autonomy in the English National Health Service', Health Policy, Volume 86 Issue 2-3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-May
The annual report of the National Health Service Chief Executive was published for 2007-08.
Source: The Year 2007/08: NHS Chief Executive's annual report, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Report | DH press release | Civitas press release | FT report
Date: 2008-May
The Court of Appeal ruled that the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence should have been more transparent in the way it made decisions over the availability of drugs to treat advanced Alzheimer's disease – though it did not overturn NICE's ruling on their use.
Source: Eisai Ltd, R (on the application of) v National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), Court of Appeal 1 May 2008
Links: Text of judgement | NICE press release | Alzheimers Society press release | BBC report | Telegraph report | Guardian report | FT report
Date: 2008-May
A literature review examined what was known about the effectiveness of intergenerational practice, in particular in education, community development/neighbourhood renewal, and health settings. There was evidence that successful intergenerational projects had the potential to deliver positive outcomes for participants and for communities.
Source: Iain Springate. Mary Atkinson and Kerry Martin, Intergenerational Practice: A review of the literature, National Foundation for Educational Research (01753 747281)
Date: 2008-May
A paper examined the effects of 'internal market' hospital competition on small-area socio-economic inequality in the use of hospital services in the English National Health Service during the period 1991-2001.
Source: Richard Cookson, Mark Dusheiko, Geoffrey Hardman and Stephen Martin, Does Hospital Competition Increase Health Care Inequalities? Evidence from the English National Health Service 1991-2001, Centre for Research on Families and Relationships/University of Edinburgh (0131 651 1832) Links: Paper
Date: 2008-May
A think-tank report examined whether polyclinics would improve the quality and accessibility of healthcare and deliver cost savings. Although there were opportunities to improve the quality of care and address some longstanding problems in the English healthcare system, there were also risks, particularly around the transition to this new model.
Source: Candace Imison, Chris Naylor and Jo Maybin, Under One Roof: Will polyclinics deliver integrated care?, King's Fund (020 7307 2591)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-May
A report said that most National Health Service patients were living with long-term and multiple conditions, and could not be treated by a one-off episode of hospital care: instead they dealt on a continuing basis with their family doctor, practice nurse, various community services, social care, and occasional – sometimes frequent – hospital admissions as well. It said that family doctors should therefore reclaim responsibility for round-the-clock care; that joint working between consultants, family doctors, and other clinicians should be improved; and that a new type of doctor was needed – the 'community specialist consultant', equivalent to a hospital consultant but with special training in the clinical and management skills needed to work across the boundaries between hospitals and primary care.
Source: In Sickness and in Health: Achieving an integrated NHS, NHS Alliance (01777 869080)
Links: NHS Alliance press release | BBC report | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-Apr
An article examined the cost of using private finance to build hospitals under the 'private finance initiative' (PFI). Hospital trusts' annual payments to their private sector partners were higher than expected, and were taking 11 per cent of their budget. The additional cost of private over public finance for the first 12 hospitals was about £60 million a year, which was 20-25 per cent of the trusts' income. PFI charges created budget inflexibilities and were increasing the pressure on the National Health Service to cut their largest cost – the jobs, working conditions, and pay of their staff.
Source: Jean Shaoul, Anne Stafford and Pam Stapleton, 'The cost of using private finance to build, finance and operate hospitals', Public Money and Management, Volume 28 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Apr
A report examined the 'polyclinic' model – bringing family doctors together with diagnostic and other services. Many of the potential benefits of the new model had not been fully considered due to 'misconceptions' about it.
Source: Ideas from Darzi: Polyclinics, NHS Confederation (020 7959 7272)
Links: Report | NHS Confederation press release | BMA press release | Turning Point press release
Date: 2008-Apr
A report examined the extent to which health economic information was used in health policy decision-making. At the local level in the National Health Service, it was an exception for economic evaluation to inform technology coverage decisions. Local decision-making focused primarily on evidence of clinical benefit and cost implications. At the national policy level, economic analysis was found to be highly integrated into NICE's technology appraisal programme.
Source: Iestyn Williams, Shirley McIver, David Moore and Stirling Bryan, The Use of Economic Evaluations in NHS Decision-making: A review and empirical investigation, Health Technology Assessment Programme/National Institute for Health Research (enquiries@nihr.ac.uk)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Apr
A report identified a shortfall in the number of consultants required in many specialties. There was also a need to increase the number of consultants over and above the expansion that had already taken place in recent years, in order to ensure that patients received the highest possible level of care, and that the National Health Service delivered its services in the most cost-effective way.
Source: Enhancing Quality: Promoting consultant expansion across the NHS, British Medical Association (020 7387 4499)
Links: Report | BMA press release | Telegraph report | BBC report
Date: 2008-Apr
The Welsh Assembly Government began consultation on a reorganization of the health service in Wales. The proposals included abolishing the 'internal market' by providing funding from the Welsh Assembly Government or a National Health Service Board for Wales directly to hospital trusts and local health boards. The number of local health boards would be cut from 22 to 8.
Source: Proposals to Change the Structure of the NHS in Wales: Consultation Paper, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: Consultation document | Consultation document (Welsh) | BBC report
Date: 2008-Apr
A series of articles criticized the assumptions underpinning the reconfiguration of the National Health Service, the lack of genuine consultation on reorganization of services at a local level, and some of the statistical techniques deployed by researchers whose work was used to justify the policy of centralization.
Source: Radical Statistics, Issue 96
Links: Table of contents
Date: 2008-Apr
A report examined the causes of delayed transfers of care from hospitals in Wales. It made a total of 46 recommendations, focusing on improving efficiency, and on establishing across Wales a 'balance of care' which would avoid unnecessary admissions to hospital.
Source: Marcus Longley et al., Independent Review of Delayed Transfers of Care in Wales, Welsh Institute for Health and Social Care/University of Glamorgan (01443 483070)
Links: Report | Summary | Summary (Welsh) | BBC report
Date: 2008-Apr
A think-tank report said that greater independence for the National Health Service from government could be of benefit to patients and citizens if a 'public value' approach were applied. This would mean: uniting the NHS to achieve objectives based both on what the public value, and what had greatest impact on the health of society; committing to the 'co-production' of health; recognizing that patients and the public created health, together with their health service – and that the latter should act in partnership with them.
Source: David Levy, NHS Independence: What's in it for patients and citizens?, Picker Institute Europe (01865 208100)
Links: Report | Picker Institute press release
Date: 2008-Mar
An article examined the organizational and policy context within which health managers found themselves. It considered the strategies that public service managers employed to stay up-to-date with what was required of them; how they dealt with the fact that much of what they were accountable for was actually outside of their control; and how a demanding and prescriptive performance measurement system affected them.
Source: Ian Greener, 'Decision making in a time of significant reform: managing in the NHS', Administration and Society, Volume 40 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Mar
A report (by the government's 'volunteering champion') said that service users could make an enormous contribution as volunteers in health and social care. But child protection checks and other barriers were wasting this potential.
Source: Julia Neuberger, Volunteering in the Public Services: Health and Social Care, Cabinet Office (020 7261 8527)
Links: Report | Cabinet Office press release | CSV press release | Guardian report | Community Care report
Date: 2008-Mar
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on the work of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. It said that the report had made 'a number of helpful recommendations' that would be important in informing NICE's future development, and the way in which its guidance was used to improve patient care.
Source: The Government's Response to the Health Select Committee's First Report of Session 2007-08 on the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, Cm 7331, Department of Health, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Response | MPs report
Date: 2008-Mar
A report examined services which provided advice to women in early labour. National Health Service trusts had introduced a range of different services for women in early labour: but in many cases there had been no evaluation of the impact of these changes. Women interviewed as part of the study expressed a need for consistent, clear advice and criteria for future contacts with midwifery services as labour developed.
Source: Helen Spiby, Josephine Green, Clare Hucknall, Helen Richardson Foster and Alison Andrews, Labouring for Better Effect: Studies of services for women in early labour, National Institute for Health Research/London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (020 7612 7980)
Date: 2008-Mar
The government published the first annual benefits statement on the national programme for information technology in the National Health Service. It said that the programme was on course to deliver better care and an estimated £1.14 billion in savings by 2014.
Source: National Programme for IT in the NHS: Benefits Statement 2006/07, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Report | DH press release | NHS Confederation press release | Liberal Democrats press release | BBC report
Date: 2008-Mar
An article said that the financial benefits of sending National Health Service patients to private health treatment centres had not been proved.
Source: Allyson Pollock and Sylvia Godden, 'Independent sector treatment centres: evidence so far', British Medical Journal, 23 February 2008
Links: Abstract | BBC report | FT report
Date: 2008-Feb
An annual compendium was published of data on population and health trends in the United Kingdom, and on the changing finances and structure of the National Health Service.
Source: Compendium of Health Statistics: 19th Edition 2008, Office of Health Economics (020 7930 9203)
Links: OHE press release
Date: 2008-Feb
Researchers examined eight National Health Service treatment centres in order to learn how organizational and social factors influenced the development and delivery of innovative models of healthcare. The development of the centres was hampered by imprecise planning, financial setbacks, and uncertainty about likely case mix and patient flows.
Source: Paul Bate et al., The Development and Implementation of NHS Treatment Centres as an Organisational Innovation, National Institute for Health Research/London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (020 7612 7980)
Date: 2008-Feb
The Northern Ireland Executive began consultation on proposals to reform health and social care. The key elements included: a new Regional Health and Social Care Board that would focus on financial management, performance management, and commissioning; and a new multi-professional Regional Public Health Agency to create better inter-sectoral working to tackle health promotion and inequalities.
Source: Proposals for Health and Social Care Reform, Northern Ireland Executive (028 9052 0500)
Links: Consultation document | NIE press release | BMA press release | BBC report
Date: 2008-Feb
A report said that independent sector treatment centres offered increased choice for patients, had excellent satisfaction ratings, and should be seen as a long-term force for good in the National Health Service. It also recommended improvements to the ISTCs programme, and said that independent providers should be flexible and willing to explore ways in which they could better complement existing health services and 'improve value'.
Source: ISTCs and the NHS: Sticking plaster or real reform?, Confederation of British Industry (020 7395 8247)
Links: Report | CBI press release | NHS Confederation press release | FT report
Date: 2008-Feb
An audit report said that the 'payment by results' system had helped hospitals to be more business-like, but had not yet increased National Health Service efficiency significantly.
Source: The Right Result? Payment by results 2003-07, Audit Commission (0800 502030)
Links: Report | Audit Commission press release | NHS Confederation press release | BMA press release | Liberal Democrats press release | BBC report
Date: 2008-Feb
A discussion paper said that government policies to shift care out of hospital demanded closer collaboration and new ways of working.
Source: Minoo Irani, Integrated Healthcare Services: The future of commissioning and provision of out of hospital healthcare in the NHS, NHS Alliance (01777 869080)
Links: NHS Alliance press release
Date: 2008-Feb
An audit report said that free personal and nursing care in Scotland needed to be better planned, managed, and funded for it to continue to benefit older people in the future.
Source: A Review of Free Personal and Nursing Care, Audit Scotland for Accounts Commission and Auditor General (0131 477 1234)
Links: Report | Audit Scotland press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Community Care report
Date: 2008-Feb
A report examined how the health systems in the United Kingdom's three devolved administrations had developed, and how their approaches had differed from those in England, since 2003.
Source: Paul Jervis, Devolution and Health, Nuffield Trust (020 631 8450)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Jan
A think-tank report said that the government's proposals to eliminate excessive waiting from the National Health Service stood 'no realistic chance' of succeeding. The target of a maximum 18-week delay from referral to treatment, to be achieved by December 2008, was an impossibility, given the lacklustre performance of some strategic health authorities, primary care trusts, and hospital trusts. The only long-term solution to this was not targets, but choice and competition. The obstacle was the unwillingness of family doctors to provide the necessary information to patients, out of a misplaced desire to protect the inefficient local healthcare system, including the nearest hospital.
Source: James Gubb, Why Are We Waiting? An analysis of waiting times in the NHS, Civitas (020 7401 5470)
Links: Report | Civitas press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-Jan
A BBC study found that the National Health Service was spending £350 million per year to provide maternity services for foreign-born mothers, £200 million more than a decade previously. Immigration had raised the birth rate so quickly that some units had closed, so that midwives could be moved to areas of more urgent need.
Source: BBC report, 29 January 2008
Links: BBC report | Liberal Democrats press release
Date: 2008-Jan
A report by a committee of MPs said that the cost-effectiveness of new medicines should be judged in terms of the wider social benefits that their availability on the National Health Service would bring.
Source: National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, First Report (Session 2007-08), HC 27, House of Commons Health Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Alzheimers Society press release | NHS Confederation press release | FT report | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Jan
The Scottish Government began consultation on proposals for greater public involvement in the National Health Service and direct elections to health boards.
Source: Consultation Document: Local Healthcare Bill, Scottish Government, available from Blackwell's Bookshop (0131 622 8283)
Links: Consultation document | SG press release
Date: 2008-Jan
The government said that eliminating mixed-sex wards from National Health Service hospitals was 'an aspiration that could not be met'. The government was committed to single-sex accommodation: but this could be achieved instead by splitting up mixed wards into bays.
Source: House of Lords Hansard, Debate 28 January 2008, columns 440-441, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | RCN press release | Liberal Democrats press release | Telegraph report | BBC report
Date: 2008-Jan
The Northern Ireland Executive published a strategy to promote equality, good relations, and human rights in health and social care.
Source: Equality, Good Relations and Human Rights Strategy and Action Plan, Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety/Northern Ireland Executive (028 9052 0500)
Links: Strategy | NIE press release
Date: 2008-Jan
