WIREDGOV NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE

Not surprising so many only want to work part-time

New research from The King’s Fund exposes for the first time the extent of the crisis in general practice, finding that the overall number of consultations (face-to-face & telephone) has increased by 15% over the past 5 years, 3 times the rate of increase in the number of GPs.  The report analyses 30m patient contacts from 177 practices and includes extensive research with GP practices & trainees.

As well as a growth in the number of consultations, it shows that general practice’s workload has become more complex and intense. For example, the research also found:

  • a 63% growth in telephone consultations
  • the biggest increase in consultations were among the over-85 age group (up 28%), who are more likely to have more than one chronic condition
  • using other members of the primary care team to triage & manage minor illness means that the patients GPs do see tend to be the most complex cases, who often require more than a 10-minute appointment
  • the move to transfer care closer to patients’ homes hasn’t been coupled with the equivalent transfer of resources to primary care, again increasing the pressure on GPs
Researched Links:

Kings Fund:  Causes of GP crisis revealed in new analysis

Other GP related KF publications

NHS England:  What’s important to me: not what you think is important for me

Invitation to ‘tool-up’ for better care

Improving the gateway to better healthcare

Can standards be maintained?

Helping guard against a return to pre-antibiotic medical care

Reducing visits to A&E

Joined-up care by law

NHS England:  Healthcare change is messy but we are going in the right direction

Involving general practitioners in regulatory decisions on medicines

MPs back CQC regulation of general practices

LGA Councils respond to GP rescue package

CQC supports 5-year vision for general practice in England

New Intelligence Packs offer early prevention opportunities – Dr Matt Kearney

New service to ensure better health and wellbeing for Wales’ GPs

NICE tackles complex health issues for people with multi-morbidity

Helping doctors respond to the needs of transgender people – Will Huxter

200,000 people given the skills to contact the doctor online reducing NHS costs

New improved prostate pack for GPs

GP complaint handling – An opportunity to improve

Kings Fund:  £11bn cost of treating physical & mental health separately

New GP contract agreed for 2016 to 2017

Market Engagement launched: Improving GPs’ Access to Mental Health Support

Patients Association:  BMA survey shows patient care deteriorating as GPs struggle to cope

NICE targets stroke with possible new indicators for GPs and clinical commissioners

 

DCLG Case Study
Empowering a More Mobile Workforce:
Delivering £3M Efficiency Savings

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has recently migrated to desktop virtualisation software and other tools in a move that will save £3m a year while boosting efficiency and flexibility for mobile workers.

DCLG is also part of the Public Services Network (PSN), which requires each user’s access to be secure so the solution had to meet all government security requirements, including encryption of any personal data.

 “We have saved around 40 per cent on our desktop budget. We used to spend around £7 million a year providing desktops and infrastructure, and we now spend £4 million per year on a better service that users prefer. Darren Scates CIO and Technology Leader DCLG.

Click here to find out more and download the full DCLG case study.

 
Once AIDS was a ‘death sentence’

£250m has been pledged towards the UK’s first ever Dementia Research Institute (DRI), as Alzheimer’s Society and Alzheimer’s Research UK have recently both pledged £50m investment recently (1 May 2016).  Announced by the PM in his Challenge on Dementia 2020 last year, the DRI has been backed by £150m of government investment.  It will bring together scientists & experts from across the globe to transform the landscape of dementia research and firmly secure the UK’s reputation as a world leader in R&D against these devastating diseases.

Set to be fully up & running by 2020, the Institute will have a central UK hub with a network of regional centres and is expected to engage hundreds of scientists.  It will focus on the innovative, discovery science needed to unlock our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the development & progression of the dementias. This research will help to drive new approaches to diagnosis, treatment, care provision and ultimately prevention of the disease

Researched Links:

BIS:  Charities’ historic pledge sees funding for landmark Dementia Research Institute soar to £250m

Ageing may be inevitable, BUT Dementia isn’t

Would you want your mother/father treated like this?

Unlike ‘Death & Taxes’ we CAN do something about it

In it for the ‘Long Haul’

The potential ‘Return’ on this investment could be £bns

 
A legacy of ‘good’ care
The Kate Granger Compassionate Care Awards will again take centre stage at this year’s Health and Care Innovation Expo.  The awards, which are made to individuals, teams & organisations who demonstrate outstanding care for their patients, will be made on the first day of Expo 2016 being staged at Manchester Central on 7 – 8 September 2016.  Named after Kate Granger, the terminally ill doctor who has worked tirelessly to raise awareness around compassion in the NHS through her #hellomynameis social media campaign, the awards are now open to entrants, and nominations can be made throughout May & June, with the closing date being 30 June 2016.

Kate Granger Compassionate Care Awards launched

NHS England:  I hope my legacy grows & grows

 
Health Science hub ‘rises from the ashes’ of GSK site
Public Health England will be holding a 3-day exhibition to unveil outline plans to create a public health science hub in Harlow, Essex, known as PHE Harlow.  The £400m project will involve redeveloping the vacant GSK site at the New Frontiers Science Park to create a centre of excellence for research, health improvement and protection. Invitations have been sent to 7,500 people living within a mile of the site and many more have been distributed in & around the town.  Science Alive at Harlow Leisurezone from on 12 – 13 May (3pm to 8pm) & Saturday 14 May. (10a.m to 3pm)

DH:  PHE invites Harlow community to exhibition unveiling plans for a science hub

 
SME Supplier Locator update...

UK Government and public sector spend with SME’s is continually on the increase and by 2020, it is the stated intent of Cabinet Office that £1 of every £3 spent on government contracts goes to SME’s. The past 5 years have seen government make a priority of getting money through its supply chain into the hands of SMEs, by both setting targets and introducing new procurement mechanisms.

Against this backdrop, the WiredGov Supplier Locator service has been developed specifically to embrace the SME Agenda and provide the ideal platform for SME’s to promote their services, solutions, accreditation and success stories directly to our ever increasing audience across all government and public sector verticals and Tier 1 suppliers.

Click here to find out more and view this week’s new arrivals to the SME Supplier Locator service. 

 
Does anyone know the size of the problem over the next 5 years?
The UK government has announced that unaccompanied asylum-seeking children will be resettled in the UK from Greece, Italy and France in an initiative announced following discussions between the government and Save the Children.  This initiative builds on last month’s announcement that up to 3,000 vulnerable children & family members will be resettled direct from the Middle East and North Africa.  And it adds to the resettlement of 20,000 people direct from Syrian refugee communities, which has been under way since last year.
Researched Links:

10DS:  Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children to be resettled from Europe

UNICEF UK response to growing pressure to support unaccompanied child refugees in Europe

Almost 90,000 unaccompanied minors among asylum seekers registered in the EU in 2015

EU News:  Towards a sustainable & fair Common European Asylum System

LGA responds to PM announcement on unaccompanied asylum seeking children in Europe

LGA:  Unaccompanied child asylum seeker costs must be reimbursed

Editorial comment; Points to ponder on the Syrian migration crisis

How do you say ‘Settle Down Now’ in 20+ languages?

UNICEF urges full hearings for refugee & migrant children stranded in Greece

New EU-Turkey agreement on refugee & migrants could leave children at risk: Unicef

MEPs propose a centralised EU system for asylum claims with national quotas

Unicef: Child refugees and migrants suffer most by border restrictions

Unicef:  With growing numbers of child deaths at sea, UN agencies call for enhancing safety for refugees & migrants

More children & women seek safety in Europe: Unicef

Unicef launches £1.96bn humanitarian appeal for children

Winter: Unicef Expresses Concern Over the Health of Children on the Move

Syria's lost refugee children – urgent Government response needed

Government of Germany & Unicef join forces for refugee & migrant children in Germany

Unicef ramps up mobile response for child refugees & migrants in Croatia, as numbers climb

 
Changing the ‘Odds of Life’  for 8m Syrian children
Students across the country are gearing up to help raise vital funds for Syrian children as Unicef UK’s annual Day for Change takes place on Friday 13 May.  With more than 8m Syrian children now in urgent need of life-saving aid, Unicef is calling on schools to collect as much loose change as they can to help keep Syrian children safe.  Pupils can get creative and hold special fundraising events, from cake sales, to ‘Wear-it-blue’ non-uniform days or Bring-a-Pound days.  This year the UK government will double every penny schools raise for the appeal until 22 July 2016, helping Unicef to reach even more children in danger.

Unicef:  Pupils Gear Up To Bring Change For Syria’s Children

Unicef UK Launches Resources To Help School Children Understand The Refugee Crisis

 
Projects will always be over-budget if managed retrospectively
A Public Accounts Committee report warns that poor data & increasing complexity are undermining Parliament's ability to hold the Government to account.  It also finds there are ‘too many examples’ of departmental Accounting Officers allowing projects & initiatives such as funding to the charity Kids Company ‘to proceed unchallenged, despite strong evidence of poor value for money’.  The Committee describes a lack of cost & performance data across government as a long-standing problem, weakening the ability of Accounting Officers "to hold delivery bodies to account and intervene effectively where required".
Researched Links:

PC&PE:  New measures needed to safeguard scrutiny of public spending

The art of spending public money wisely

Individual savings (ex. Cost of a printer cartridge) may be 'piddling', but over a year, UK-wide, it adds up to £bns

This is a familiar theme over the years

Accountability to Parliament for taxpayers’ money

Eurostar sell-off raises concerns over handling of public assets

Kids Company: Committee calls for overhaul of grant-funding system

Government creates new body to help manage and deliver major projects for UK economy

 
‘British Rail’ to be controlled by Brussels?
Taking stock of the current situation, the European Railway Agency has analysed the political, economic, social, and technological environment of the European railway sector to formulate its vision for 2020:  As a respected European authority, the Agency will be the ‘engine for change’ driving the Single European Railway Area.
Researched Links:

Strategic Vision for the European Railway Agency: the Engine for Change

Eliminating technical & administrative obstacles to boost European railways

Rail Transport: Landmark deal will deliver better rail services to passengers

New approval systems for rail interoperability and safety: COREPER gives its go-ahead

EU seeks out partners for joint rail research

Council agrees its position on the European Railway Agency

Unions protest against threat of rail privatisation across Europe

Transport: Parliament committee paves the way for a single European rail area

 
Also helps one prepare for tube strikes
National Walking Month launched last week with Londoners being encouraged to make walking part of their daily routine.  The campaign, organised by national charity Living Streets, highlights the benefits of walking and promotes the idea that 20 minutes each day can have a significant impact on health & wellbeing.

TfL:  Step into May

TfL:  A walk in the park

 
Would ‘fining’ the Chief Executive help ensure ‘due care & attention’ was paid to this responsibility
A health trust that posted the private details of 6,574 members of staff on its website has been fined £185,000 by the ICO.  Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust failed to notice the mistake for 10 months and then took a further 5 months to alert affected staff.
Researched Links:

ICO fines NHS trust £185,000 for publishing details of thousands of staff online

Less haste, more care, fewer fines

Sensitive details of NHS staff published by Trust in Devon

Personal fine for CE & Council leader might ensure commitment to data protection

 

 More contributions to the EU Referendum

More news, opinions, documents, claims & counter-claims;

Researched Links:

Vote Leave - the campaign for a Leave vote in the EU referendum

Britain Stronger In Europe

Open Europe

Strategic Vision for the European Railway Agency: the Engine for Change

EU News:  Almost 90,000 unaccompanied minors among asylum seekers registered in the EU in 2015

Adam Smith Inst:  Why the only way is EEA for a post Brexit Britain

PC&PE:  EU withdrawal would be complex & daunting, Committee finds

IEA:  TPD - Regulatory overreach from the EU

EC opens way for decision by June on visa-free travel for citizens of Turkey

Editor’s Note:  We suggest readers monitor the ‘News’ sections of the 2 campaign sites for the 2 differing views.  The WGPlus newsletter will mainly limit itself to highlighting ‘normal’ EU-related news, plus Think Tank items, PC&PE reports, etc.

 
Please choose from the links below to view individual sections of interest:

When 96 Liverpool fans were killed at Hillsborough football stadium 27 years ago, responsibility lay with local police authorities. That responsibility has since shifted to police and crime commissioners, and 5 May provided voters with their first chance to pass judgment on that shift, argues former chief constable Peter Neyroud on the network this week. But when nine in 10 people say they cannot name their local PCC, it might just turn out to be a failed experiment.

Popular on the network
PCCs too weak to stop another Hillsborough or Rotherham scandal

PCCs too weak to stop another Hillsborough or Rotherham scandal
Directly elected PCCs were introduced in 2011 to bolster police accountability, but they are not sufficient

What is local government and how can you get involved?

What is local government and how can you get involved?
As voters get ready for the council elections on 5 May, here’s what you need to know local government

We should assess prisons by what happens once offenders are released

We should assess prisons by what happens once offenders are released
If David Cameron wants to make prisons accountable for their performance, they will need better data

Privatised, nationalised, electrified? A guide to the UK's railways

Privatised, nationalised, electrified? A guide to the UK's railways
While tracks are owned by state-controlled Network Rail, most services are provided by private companies

News in brief
• Local and mayoral elections to take place on 5 May
• Government critics fear low turnout in police commissioner elections
• Police across the world take up 'running man' recruitment dance challenge
• Top UK civil servant reviews HS2 project
• Councils 'to sell up to £145m of housing a year to fund right-to-buy'
• Chinese police to patrol Rome's streets