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Guidance Notes and Best Practice Guides
DH: Currently people who need mental health services are not able to make the same choices about their care & treatment as those who use other health services. But the response to the No Decision About Me, Without Me consultation outlines how they will are able to choose from any provider in England when they are referred for treatment from April 2014.
NICE: Greater awareness of hepatitis B & C is needed so that more people who are at risk can be tested & treated for the viruses, according to latest guidance from NICE. NICE also recommends that Public Health England and primary care practitioners should take overall responsibility for tracing the close contacts of people with confirmed and chronic hepatitis B infection.
HEFCE: The Higher Education Academy (HEA) has published 4 toolkits offering practical guidance to those working in higher education (HE) outreach & widening participation. The toolkits are web-based and are available on the HEA website.
The toolkits were commissioned by Higher Education Funding Council England and are designed to support the effective strategy, management & delivery of outreach work to encourage progression to HE. They draw on existing outreach methods & resources, most notably those produced by the Aimhigher partnerships.
NHS Confed: The NHS Confederation's new interactive guide to the Francis Inquiry provides an overview of the inquiry so far and details the key areas they expect to be covered in Robert Francis's report.
Due in January 2013, Robert Francis QC's report into failings at Mid Staffordshire Foundation NHS Trust will examine the wider health system & make recommendations for system-wide changes to prevent similar failings occurring in the future.
Due in January 2013, Robert Francis QC's report into failings at Mid Staffordshire Foundation NHS Trust will examine the wider health system & make recommendations for system-wide changes to prevent similar failings occurring in the future.
SFA: This week, the Skills Funding Agency has published a suite of information materials to help providers in their conversations with learners & employers. These include a learner frequently asked questions & factsheet and frequently asked questions for providers to use in conversations with employers. They are available on the Student Loans Company's practitioner website, which is now live.
In addition, the FSA will shortly publish case studies showing scenarios for different learners interested in loans, introductory paragraphs to loans that provider organisations can use on their websites and in their publications & resources such as the logo for 24+ Advanced Learning Loans and poster templates. Keep visiting the SLC practitioner website as these additional resources go online.
DfT: Thousands of traffic signs are being brought down across the country as part of a government drive to rid our streets of clutter. Transport Secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, has urged local authorities to continue the cull. He has also unveiled a new document called ‘Reducing sign clutter’ that provides guidance to local authorities on how to remove unnecessary traffic signs as cost-effectively as possible.
