WIREDGOV NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
| A healthy body is a guest-chamber for the soul; a sick body is a prison (Francis Bacon) |
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The King’s Fund has published a new report which shows that the psychological problems associated with physical health conditions, & vice versa, are costing the NHS more than £11bn a year and care is less effective than it could be. The report argues that by integrating physical & mental health care the NHS can improve health outcomes and save money. The £11bn a year is the collective cost of:
The separation between physical & mental health has a high human cost: the life expectancy for people with severe mental illness (such as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia) is 15 to 20 years below that of the general population, largely as a result of physical health conditions. |
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Kings Fund: £11bn cost of treating physical & mental health separately NHS Confederation: Funding for children's mental health services is not reaching the front line Is it because we cannot see / touch mental health symptoms? Not everyone is capable of asking for checks When Mother & baby are at their most vulnerable Working towards better mental health This impacts on the economy as well as individuals One never knows if a sudden crisis will impact on you or a family member |
With software representing an average 30% of an organisation’s total IT budget, Software Asset Management (SAM) best practice is built on a foundation of common sense that could go some way towards making much needed savings across the public sector, as well as keeping your organisation compliant with regulatory requirements. This brief WiredGov subscriber survey has been designed to measure the current levels of SAM across the public sector and to determine where improvements (if any) can be made. The survey should take you less than 2 minutes to complete. Click here to take the survey and be entered into our prize draw for £100 Amazon Voucher. |
| This has been an issue for decades |
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The Health Secretary has announced plans to improve NHS safety transparency at the first ministerial-level Global Patient Safety Summit. He described a range of new measures including an independent Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch and legal protection for anyone giving information following a hospital mistake. Legal ‘safe spaces’ will mean those co-operating with investigations will be supported and protected to speak up to help bring new openness to the NHS’s response to tragic mistakes. Families will be told the full truth more quickly and the NHS will become better at learning when things go wrong and acting upon it. From April 2018, expert medical examiners will independently review & confirm the cause of all deaths. This was originally recommended by the Shipman Inquiry, and subsequently by Robert Francis following the events of Mid Staffs. If any death needs to be investigated and if there is cause for concern, appropriate action will be taken. |
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DH: Plans to end the cover-up culture in the NHS DH: An NHS that learns from mistakes Monitor: New league launched to encourage openness in the NHS NHS Confed: Response to Secretary of State for Health 'learning from mistakes' league table The fact that the numbers are ‘statistically small’ is NOT comforting Is the NHS just too big to improve? If you don’t ‘complain’ someone else may ‘suffer’ in a similar situation |
| An ‘illness’ that impacts on the whole family |
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Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has published the dementia implementation plan which will empower people with dementia and their family through improved care & transparency. As part of the government’s aim of building a higher-quality NHS for patients, with safer care throughout the week, the dementia implementation plan will make sure:
As part of plans to raise awareness of health concerns, a new pilot scheme will extend NHS Health Checks. For the first time, NHS Health Checks will include awareness raising, education & discussion of risk reduction for dementia for people aged 40 or older. This is currently only available for over 65s. |
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DH: Health Secretary unveils plans for safer 7-day dementia service NHS England: Dementia Declaration has potential for step change in care LGA responds to Prime Minister's 2020 Dementia Challenge Would you want your mother/father treated like this? |
| SME Supplier Locator update... |
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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. |
| You don’t have to make an appointment to see one |
| Pharmacists across Wales will provide new NHS services for people with minor illnesses. The Choose Pharmacy service will see pharmacists take responsibility for managing a range of minor ailments. People will be able to see their pharmacist for free treatment instead of making an appointment to see their GP. The scheme will help to free up GP time to deal with people with more complex needs – up to 18% of GPs’ workload and 8% of A&E consultations are estimated to relate to minor ailments, such as coughs, colds, ear ache, hay fever, conjunctivitis and head lice. |
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WAG: New Choose Pharmacy scheme to be rolled out across Wales Evaluation of the Choose Pharmacy common ailments service They do a 4-year Masters Degree (MPharm) + 1 year preregistration training |
| Are we too protective? |
| A major new study for the Food Standards Agency has found that introducing allergenic foods to the infant diet from 3 months of age may be effective in food allergy prevention if the recommended quantity of allergenic food was consumed. |
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FSA: Giving allergenic foods to infants from 3 months old may prevent allergies |
| And that is without considering the latest EU migration issue |
| A Public Accounts Committee report calls for clarity over the management of the UK's borders – warning that the Home Office's e-Borders programme and its successors are ‘set to cost over a £bns, be delivered 8 years late, and not provide the expected benefits’. |
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PC&PE: Serious concerns over borders programme 'vital to national security' PC&PE: Shortage of asylum seeker accommodation and "appalling" prejudice, says report Rather worrying given current situation with terrorist threats and migration crisis |
| If it works and is ‘secure’ |
| The National Infrastructure Commission recently published its first report Smart Power stating that the by UK could save up to £8bn a year 2030 with a smarter, more flexible electricity system. The report finds that by supporting innovations in interconnection, storage & demand flexibility Government can help secure UK energy supply for generations. |
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techUK: Smart energy could save £8bn a year Smart grid technology can help UK tackle carbon emissions New energy data sharing systems to be developed WAG: New scheme launched to help public sector save money and become more energy efficient New tools available for National Grid to manage tight Electricity Supplies from Winter 2014/15 The role of energy innovation in helping the UK to meet its low carbon & energy security goals Put to the test: smart energy solutions for the military |
| Independence for Scotland just doesn’t add up |
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Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) 2014-15 has been announced by Scotland’s Chief Statistician. *Scottish total public sector revenue (including an illustrative geographic share of North Sea revenue) is estimated at £53.4bn (8.2% of UK public sector revenue). *Total expenditure for the benefit of Scotland by the ScotGov, UK Government, and all other parts of the public sector was £68.4bn (9.3% of total UK public sector expenditure - £12,800 per person, which is £1,400 per person greater than the UK average. Net Fiscal Balance 2014-15:
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ScotGov: Government Expenditure & Revenue Scotland 2014-15 ScotGov: Foundations of Scottish economy strong – FM IPPR Scotland: The '£2bn question' facing Scotland Editorial Commentary: Is the SNP threat of another Referendum realistic? And it will be the English taxpayer who has to pay for setting it up & funding those ‘flexibilities’ |
| And without a Degree of Debt |
| 200,000 apprenticeships will be created in the public sector by 2020, of which over 30,000 will be in the Civil Service. The Civil Service Fast Track programme gives people the chance to earn a competitive salary while they work towards a Level 4 Apprenticeship, gaining the skills & experience that they’ll need for a successful career in the Civil Service. Apprentices will be able to apply for roles in business, commercial, digital, finance, project delivery and communications. |
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CO: Matt Hancock opens Civil Service Fast Track apprenticeships scheme |
| Editorial Commentary: Do you know your GDPR from your DPA 1998? |
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As most people know, one of the prime requirements of Data Protection is to keep one’s data / secrets safe and it appears that one of the current best kept secrets in the public sector is GDPR, or the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation…….. The Reform consists of two instruments:
The reform is intended to allow people to regain control of their personal data. Following political agreement reached in trilogue, the final texts will be formally adopted by the European Parliament and Council at the beginning 2016. The new rules will become applicable 2 years thereafter. Quoting Public Technology.net; …fines have been agreed as part of a draft General Data Protection Regulation which is aimed at regulating the processing of citizens’ data across the continent. Businesses breaching the rules face the massive fines, but the text of the new directive allows the UK government to restrict the scope of the rules under a number of circumstances which are likely to cover government. Councils uncertain over effect of European Union GDPR It looks like the Information Commissioner’s Office, Socitm, techUK, et al. have a busy 2 years ahead of them publishing guidance and getting the UK public sector up to speed on this issue over the next 2 years! |
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Agreement on Commission's EU data protection reform will boost Digital Single Market A further step towards comprehensive EU data protection ICO: “20m reasons for organisations to get EU data reforms right” EC proposal on new data protection rules in law enforcement area backed by Justice Ministers The UK and France create new joint Data Taskforce EPP New General Data Protection Regulation is response to questions of the last century Ashfords: The new EU General Data Protection Regulation is finally here |
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More news, opinions, documents, claims & counter-claims; |
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Electoral Commission opens applications for EU Referendum lead campaigner designation |
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More news, opinions, documents, claims & counter-claims; |
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Audit Scotland: Auditor General sets out support for Parliament in scrutinising new fiscal framework WAG: Wales Bill - “The Bill we could still deliver together”; Carwyn Jones IPPR Scotland: The '£2bn question' facing Scotland |
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