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WIREDGOV NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
Summer Break: Please note that whilst the Wired-GOV email alerting system will be operating as normal throughout August, our next weekly newsletter will be published & emailed to subscribers on Monday, 5th September 2016.
| We have ‘known’ about the problem for decades, but little ever seems to be achieved |
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A Public Accounts Committee report challenges the Government to address the scale & cost of delays in discharging older patients from hospital. The Committee's report urges new measures to tackle discharge delays, which are bad for both patients' health and the financial sustainability of the NHS & local government. The Committee finds there is a poor understanding of the scale of discharge problems, with official data substantially under-estimating the range of delays and the number of older patients affected. There is unacceptable variation in local performance on discharging such patients, says the Committee, finding that while good discharge practice is well understood, "implementation is patchy across local areas". It concludes poor sharing of patient information is a significant barrier to improving performance, while "the fragility of the adult social care provider market" exacerbates discharge difficulties. While it recognises there is pressure on funding, the Committee does not accept this necessarily blocks efforts to make further improvements and urges a greater commitment to step up the pace of change. It concludes: "NHS England shows a striking poverty of ambition in believing that holding delays to the current inflated level would be a satisfactory achievement." |
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PC&PE: Government shows 'striking poverty of ambition' on discharge delays NAO: Discharging older patients from hospital NICE guidance can reduce delays in hospital discharge raised by critical report LGA: Councils respond to report on delayed discharges The King's Fund response to the PAC report on discharging older people from hospitals This is NOT just a case of inadequate resources New ways to meet health challenges: apply for business contracts NICE guidance addresses the need for safe & appropriate discharge from hospital Nearly 2m patients to receive person-centred support to manage their own care 37 areas to lead rollout of tool to deliver person-centred care Something for IPSIS to start with! New Quick Guide supports patients’ choices Treatment closer to home thanks to extra £1.2m every year NICE: Make a single person responsible for discharging patients to avoid delays ‘After Care’ is as important as treatment in hospital The issue gets more urgent (& costly) every year If NHS needs +£8bn, what do LA’s need for social care? We won’t be able to afford the NHS unless we ‘solve’ this problem Longer independent living is vital for the NHS funding ‘crisis Consultation: Professional Record Standards Body e-Discharge Summary |
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Irrespective of Brexit, the ICO has stated that ‘UK data protection reforms are "necessary" and that the data protection framework in the UK would need to accord to the standards outlined in the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The GDPR will come into effect in 2018 and will change how organisations can collect, use and transfer personal data. Here, we outline the practical steps you can take to prepare for a new climate of increased regulation in 12 key areas including expert tips on how to:
Click here to access and download this helpful short guide to preparing for the GDPR. |
| Discharged patients then become responsibility of / burden on GPs |
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NHS England recently agreed new steps to implement plans to ‘strengthen general practice, ease the pressure on GPs and improve services for patients’. The measures aim to help struggling GP practices, protect GPs from the rising cost of negligence claims and introduce new models of care that will create more joined-up services. It follows the publications in April 2016 of The General Practice Forward View, a 5-year programme that aims to put General Practice on a sustainable footing for the future. This support will include practical help to stabilise practices under most pressure and for those practices with workforce issues. This will include access to specialist support on HR, IT, staffing & practice management. Importantly the offer is not conditional on matched funding. NHS England’s local teams will manage the funding as it will allow support to be developed & targeted more closely to practices or groups of practices where support is needed most. Practices can now register Expressions of Interest in joining a local Time for Care programme as part of the £30m general practice development programme. National expertise & resources will be available for every practice in the country to have a 9-12 month series of workshops, learning sessions and agreed action plans. These activities will help practices to implement their plans to help release capacity and work together at scale, enable self-care, introduce new technologies and make best use of the wider workforce, so freeing up GP time and improving access to services. Previous experience shows that most practices could expect to release about 10% of GP time over the 9-12 month period. |
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NHS England takes action to ease pressures on general practice & provide joined-up care General Practice Resilience Programme NHS England: Improving the gateway to better healthcare Not surprising so many only want to work part-time Hospitals are too expensive for anything but specialist ‘non-mobile’ treatment One can never ‘cure’ the problems of the NHS; stability is the best one can hope for Helping guard against a return to pre-antibiotic medical care Let’s be clear: early diagnosis is crucial for cancer patients Kings Fund: Cornerstone of NHS reforms faces uncertain future Over 55m patients in England set to benefit from accessing their GP record online ScotGov: Improving GP recruitment & retention CRUK: Worry about wasting GP’s time stopping people from reporting cancer symptoms Kings Fund: Causes of GP crisis revealed in new analysis Healthcare change is messy but we are going in the right direction LGA Councils respond to GP rescue package Patient safety alert: prioritisation of general practice home visits Patients Association: 50% increase in the number of patients forced to switch GP surgeries Patients Association: Lack of GP services affecting patient access to care |
| Showing our appreciation once per year |
| Following the success of this year’s national Armed Forces Day event in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, attended by 120,000 people, His Royal Highness The Duke of Kent and former PM David Cameron, Liverpool has been selected to host the next event on Saturday June 24, 2017. |
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MoD: Armed Forces Day 2017 to be hosted by Liverpool Armed Forces Day - Saturday 24 June 2017 Campaign to promote Armed Forces benefits a success PM announces employment support for armed forces community Armed Forces Day Flag flies across Whitehall Government suppliers encouraged to sign up to Armed Forces Covenant |
| Don’t let summer celebrations leave you ‘stone cold dead’ |
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The Marine & Coastguard Agency have just launched their new film, which targets 18 to 29 year old males with a message about the dangers of cold water shock. The new 40-second film aims to highlight the dangers of jumping or falling into water, especially after drinking, and reveals some stark dangers. Even if the weather is warm, the waters around the UK remain extremely cold throughout the year. If you fall into the water, you are likely to suffer from cold water shock – your breathing increases uncontrollably meaning that you are more likely to take water into your lungs and drown. |
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Maritime & Coastguard Agency: Cold water shock short film Stay safe this summer in and around the Thames Environment Agency warns School’s out for summer, but don’t forget your water safety lessons |
| 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. |
| When a Public Sector saving is just a transfer of costs to taxpayers |
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A Public Accounts Committee report warns that further cuts to Government spending on personal tax services could trigger another collapse in customer service. In their report, the Committee raises concerns about plans by HMRC to cut the cost of these services by around a third in the next 5 years. Customer service levels collapsed in 2014–15 and early 2015–16 as a result of HMRC underestimating the demand for telephone contact and reducing customer service capacity by releasing 5,600 staff. Average call waiting times tripled compared with previous levels and only recovered towards the end of 2015 after the recruitment of 2,400 new staff. Taxpayers spent some 4M hours waiting for HMRC to answer the phone in 2015–16 and also incurred direct call charges while on hold, with every £1 saved by HMRC on telephone services over this period resulting in an estimated £4 in extra costs to customers. |
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PC&PE: Taxpayers must not bear brunt of new HMRC spending cuts CAB: Response to NAO report on HMRC CAB: 15m people’s problems with public service go unreported |
| Could this be a way forward for HMRC customer service? |
| A new digital product, launched by the Cabinet Office, will send reminders & updates on applications & services right across government. Officially launched last week in public Beta, GOV.UK Notify will be used for issuing updates on student loans, lasting power of attorney, passports, voter registration, and the digital marketplace for SMEs. A further 70 service areas from across government are already now looking to use GOV.UK Notify. |
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Cabinet Office: Updates on your student loan, straight to your phone |
| Editorial commentary: Puzzled of rUK |
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While English voters may now have a greater understanding of what is meant by a ‘Project Fear’ campaign thanks to George Osborne, many of us are somewhat baffled by the way the SNP is ignoring some basic facts that would seem to make Scottish independence (while maintaining EU membership benefits/ membership) a non-viable proposition, in the short term at least. In a recent major speech to members of the IPPR in Edinburgh, FM Nicola Sturgeon said the UK’s negotiating position must allow those parts of the UK that voted to leave the EU the option of doing so, while those parts which voted to stay should have the option to remain. She also condemned the lack of planning for a Leave vote by those who proposed the referendum. The first statement flies in the face of electoral democratic logic as a UK-wide vote has to end up with the majority having the final say, albeit the majority may be an alliance of voting blocs and its policies a compromise. So in this case ‘Brexit’ means Brexit for the whole of the UK. As for the second point, Article 50 of the Lisbon treaty provides for a minimum of 2 years negotiations AFTER the UK ‘pushes the button’, while the SNP’s own referendum timetable was to declare independence on 24 March 2016 – a mere 18 months later! A few basic facts to consider:
Finally, before the UK PM gives her permission for another referendum, one would suggests she gets (in writing) agreement that Scotland would pay for its share of the UK national debt and accept that ownership of UK worldwide assets such as Embassies remained with the UK, thus avoiding a repeat of past ‘threats of the previous First Minister’! |
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Still a ‘hot topic’, with widely spread views, for those who put fingers to keyboard in order to ‘share their views’: |
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PC&PE: Parliament must have role in scrutinising Brexit, Committee reports ScotGov: Scotland’s future in the EU 10DS: PM to visit Northern Ireland: 25 July 2016 ScotGov: EU environment pledge CBI: Manufacturing prospects muted after Brexit TUC publishes 5 tests the PM must meet before triggering Article 50 ScotGov: Options to protect Scotland in EU 10DS: PM and Taoiseach Enda Kenny statements: 26 July 2016 PC&PE: Absence of certainty on Brexit migration issues, says Committee TUC: Government must act to protect recent growth from risks following Brexit vote |
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