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Guidance Notes and Best Practice Guides
DH: A new organisation is being set up to help NHS & social care bodies plan their workforce around delivering more productive & people centred care, Health Minister Ann Keen has claimed.
The Centre for Workforce Intelligence will ‘help the NHS & social care system plan their workforces around shifting resources to the frontline, removing bureaucracy and moving care from hospitals into homes and the community’.
The Centre for Workforce Intelligence will ‘help the NHS & social care system plan their workforces around shifting resources to the frontline, removing bureaucracy and moving care from hospitals into homes and the community’.
The commitment to form the Centre was made after a review into the future of the NHS workforce in 2008 - ‘A High Quality Workforce’ - highlighted the need for an organisation to provide leadership on the quality of workforce planning across the health & social care system. The Centre will be run by Mouchel, which specialises in transforming public services, working in partnership with the University of Manchester.
To clarify the national operating system for workforce planning & education commissioning the DH have also published ‘Planning and Developing the NHS Workforce: A National Framework’.
Press release ~ Centre for Workforce Intelligence ~ The NHS Workforce Review Team ~ A High Quality Workforce (2008) ~ ‘Planning & Developing the NHS Workforce: A National Framework’
DH: Organ donors will, in future, be allowed to donate their organs to a family member or close friend in need of a transplant under new rules, Health Minister, Ann Keen, has announced.
New guidance for transplant teams published last week sets out that (in some exceptional cases) people will be able to request that their, or a family members, organs are given to a family member or close friend after they die in cases where there is someone in need of a new organ.
New guidance for transplant teams published last week sets out that (in some exceptional cases) people will be able to request that their, or a family members, organs are given to a family member or close friend after they die in cases where there is someone in need of a new organ.
This will give transplant teams greater flexibility in the allocation of organ donations, particularly where a family member intended to donate an organ, such as a kidney, to a person but sadly died before they could. Frontline staff will if they need additional advice be able to refer cases to the Requested Allocation Oversight Group, who will provide expert guidance where needed.
Press release ~ Requested allocation of a deceased donor organ ~ Guidance for coroners and donor coordinators working with coroners ~ DH: Organ donation and transplantation ~ How to become a donor
CLG: Local people can now demand their councils take action on under-performing schools & hospitals, drink disorder, anti-social behaviour and other concerns under new rules giving real power to local petitions.
The Government announced last week that it has put in place the legal steps to bring into force on 15 June 2010 a statutory duty on councils, so they have to respond to petitions for the first time and tell local people what action is going to be taken to address their concerns.
The Government announced last week that it has put in place the legal steps to bring into force on 15 June 2010 a statutory duty on councils, so they have to respond to petitions for the first time and tell local people what action is going to be taken to address their concerns.
New statutory guidance published sets out exactly how councils will be expected to respond to all petitions, especially on 4 key areas.
* On underperforming schools
* On alcohol related crime and disorder
* On underperforming hospitals
* On anti-social behaviour
Press release ~ Listening to communities: Statutory guidance on the duty to respond to petitions ~ Government response: Listening to communities: Government response to the consultation on draft statutory guidance on the duty to respond to petitions
DH: Children & young people affected by severe disability, injury or illness will be better supported thanks to a new national framework to help local services make clinical assessments. The new framework sets a clear process for assessing the healthcare (nursing & clinical) needs and for local services to agree how these needs will be met.
Usually, needs are met by the local NHS Primary Care Trusts but, in some cases, local authority social care services will also be required. The framework will help local services understand their responsibilities and hopefully make the whole process of creating a bespoke care package smoother.
NE: Natural England believes that everyone should have access to good quality natural greenspace close to where they live. Its new guidance is a key tool for those working on the planning & management of parks & green spaces and their ‘natural’ development. It sets out the standards NE are promoting to provide high quality accessible natural greenspace:
* Quantity & Accessibility – the Access to Natural Greenspace Standards (ANGSt)
* Visitor Service Standards – for our most visited NNRs and for Country Parks and Local Nature Reserves
* Quality – the Green Flag Award
Press release ~ Nature Nearby - Accessible Natural Greenspace Guidance ~ Quantity and Accessibility - the Access to Natural Greenspace Standards (ANGSt) ~ Parks and Greenspace ~ Our Natural Health Service ~ Outdoors for All ~ One Million Children Outdoors ~ Information and resources for local authorities and policy makers
DfT: New guidance to make sure that companies who dig up the road replace it properly - reducing the risk of potholes forming – has been published. It is estimated that poorly replaced road surfaces mean there are around 90,000 remedial works each year, adding inconvenience to motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.
The revised Code of Practice published last week sets out new methods to provide better quality road surfaces, reducing the chances of potholes developing, as well as cutting down the risk that the road will have to replaced a second time.
OFT: The OFT has published guidance on the irresponsible lending element of the test of fitness to hold a credit licence. The guidance provides clarity for businesses & consumers about behaviour the OFT considers may constitute irresponsible lending practices under the Consumer Credit Act. It covers each stage of the lending process, from the pre-contract stage of advertising credit through to the handling of arrears and default on agreements.
FSA: The Food Standards Agency wants every food business to have good hygiene standards. They provide a range of tools, including Safer food, better business, to help food businesses – including those just starting up – comply with food hygiene legislation.
Press release ~ Safer food, better business ~ CookSafe and RetailSafe ~
DCSF: A new ‘Guide for Grandparents’, has been launched by charity Grandparents Plus with advice & guidance on how grandparents can balance work & care, support teenagers and help families through difficult times. The new handbook is aimed at the millions of grandparents who are providing emotional, practical & financial support to families across the country.
There are over 14m grandparents in the UK. With 1 in 3 families depending on them for childcare & more than 300,000 children being raised by their grandparents, Family Life: a grandparents’ guide to supporting families through difficult times answers many of the questions and tackles some of the key dilemmas facing grandparents.
Press release ~ Family Life: a grandparents’ guide to supporting families through difficult times ~ Grandparents Plus ~ Grandparents: key facts ~ Kids in the Middle ~ London Early Years Foundation (LEYF) ~ One Plus One ~ The Grandparents’ Association ~ Parentline Plus ~ Relate
DCSF: The Government has published revised statutory guidance to local authorities on how they can better meet the needs of homeless 16- & 17-year-olds. The new guidance means that LAs will have to work pro-actively with young people and their families to identify & resolve issues which have led them to become homeless. Much of this work will be targeted, early intervention to help prevent family breakdown and keep families together.
The guidance, which follows a judgment by the House of Lords in the case of R(G) v Southwark (2009), makes clear that homeless 16- & 17-year-olds should be accommodated as a looked after child, rather than under homelessness legislation, if the child is in the local authority’s judgement 'a child in need' as defined in the Children Act 1989. The guidance is also clear that local authorities must provide suitable accommodation based on the young person’s needs.
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