WIREDGOV NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
Special Notice: Owing to the pre-election period (purdah) the WGPlus newsletter will be published fortnightly (27th and 11th May) with the normal weekly service resuming thereafter.
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It’s bad enough being ill without suffering lack of good care |
A new toolkit has been published by NHS England to help commissioners reduce poor experience of in-patient care. It has been co-designed with the help of a number of Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) so it could be tested for its ease & usability. |
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NHS England: New toolkit launched to help reduce poor in-patient care Greater Manchester Electronic Long-term conditions Integrated Review Template Hospitals are too expensive for anything but specialist ‘non-mobile’ treatment Technology can help analyse historical health data to ‘locate’ problem areas |
Not everyone is capable of asking for checks |
Thousands of people with serious mental illness (SMI) could now be saved from an early death thanks to an innovative scheme in Bradford helping to lead the parity of esteem agenda. A new system is being used in 80 GP surgeries with 5,000 patients with serious mental illness; across 5 new clinics; and within hospitals with 200 plus beds in order to help improve the physical health of patients. The template system, produced in bespoke versions for primary & secondary care IT, makes sure patients get key physical checks they are entitled to such as blood pressure pulse and respiration, height weight & body mass index (BMI) and blood tests. |
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NHS England: Thousands of patients could be saved thanks to Bradford scheme Bradford DCT mental health services Case Study: Physical healthcare of patients with severe mental illness NICE: Psychosis & schizophrenia in adults |
Whoever wins, the evolution of government services must go on |
Georgina O'Toole from TechMarketView writes about the PSB's Three Point Plan and its goals over the course of the next Government. The piece gives some background on the purpose of the PSB and the transformation it has undergone in the last couple of years. The article also looks at the PSB's objectives for the next year, building from the Three Point Plan and the challenges faced by both Government & industry in achieving a successful digital transformation. |
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techUK: TechMarketView's profile of techUK's Public Services Board Government ICT moves from the equivalent of ‘2G to 4G’ by looking up to the clouds |
A potentially electrifying future for Wales |
The multi-billion pound investment planned for the nuclear industry in Wales over the next 20 years presents a once in a generation opportunity for Welsh businesses - if they grasp the opportunity, a new report reveals. It highlights the planned investment in new build & decommissioning in Wales, the capabilities of Welsh companies and the potential business prospects if they take advantages of the available opportunities. It also cautions that Wales could miss out on some of the forecast impact if businesses fail to take advantage of the opportunities. |
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Ceremony to mark the centenary of the Gallipoli Campaign |
The service (on Saturday 25 April) will start at 11am at the Cenotaph on Whitehall, London. There will be 2 general public viewing areas including designated space for wheelchair users. Gates will open at 8am and the space will be available on a first come, first served basis. There will be a reserved viewing area opposite the FCO for Gallipoli descendants who have applied for places to attend the event. Video screens in the area will show live coverage of the event to enhance viewers’ experience and Orders of Service will be distributed on Whitehall. |
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DCMS: Public information for attending the Gallipoli Commemoration in London |
Final opportunity to honour their memory |
Veteran’s Secretary Keith Brown is appealing to the families of World War Two veterans to claim medals honouring their family members. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the sinking of the HMS Lancastria troopship by German dive bombers on 17 June 1940 as the British Expeditionary withdrew from France. It accounted for the greatest loss of life in Royal Navy history with only an estimated 2,500 people (out of the 9,000 strong crew) surviving. The Scottish Government commissioned a medal in 2008 to honour survivors & descendants of those who lost their lives and more than 375 medals have since been issued. However, the anniversary will also signal the closure of the medal application process, with the last day for applications the 15 May 2015. |
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Don’t let them con you out of a financially secure retirement |
Convincing victims to move their pension pots into fraudulent schemes, pretending to be their employer or pension provider, and offering bogus ‘free’ financial advice, are among the tactics scammers use to target pensioners reveals Citizens Advice. The charity’s new report reveals the financial & emotional toll on pensioners who have been conned into giving up some or all their pension pot. It is a study of 150 cases reported to CAB in the last year and they have identified 5 common types of these scams. With two thirds of reported scams coming from cold calls, CAB is calling on people to tell people about suspicious phone calls and report them to authorities. |
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CAB: Pensioners feel the sting as prime targets for scammers |
Loss of voting rights is often a ‘moving event’ |
Across the UK and based on data from the last census, approximately 7.5m people will have moved home in the last 12 months. Research by the Electoral Commission indicates that of these, only 40% may be registered to vote, compared to 93% of those who have lived in the same place for 16 years or more. Also, only 63% of those who rent privately are registered to vote, compared to 94% of those who own their own homes. Electoral Commission & MoneySavingExpert.com are teaming up to encourage as many people as possible to register at their current address. |
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Electoral Commission and MoneySavingExpert.com urge recent homemovers to register to vote – Over 1m applications achieved - but there's still time to register to vote before the General Election |
Men & women are equal on ‘brainpower’ so deserve equal opportunities |
Dr Cordelia Schmid, from INRIA France will present the 5th Karen Spärck Jones Lecture, which honours women in computing research. The lecture is hosted by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, and sponsored by IBM. This year’s lecture is entitled: Automatic Understanding of the Visual World. The lecture series builds on the activities to celebrate, inform & support women engaged in computing. These include the annual London Hopper, providing networking opportunities for early career researchers, and the Lovelace Colloquium, for women undergraduates in computing & related subjects. The lecture is being held at BCS London office in Southampton Street on 20 May 2015 and is free to attend. |
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BCS: Dr Cordelia Schmid to present BCS’ Karen Spärck Jones Lecture |
Welcome to Conveyancing Practitioners |
CILEx Regulation, formerly known as ILEX Professional Standards, has begun authorising individuals & organisations to undertake reserved instrument activities under the Legal Services Act 2007. This means people so authorised will be ‘conveyancers’ as defined by rule 217A of the Land Registration Rules 2003 and therefore able to lodge applications direct & verify identity. These newly authorised conveyancers will be called either CILEx Conveyancing Practitioners or Chartered Legal Executive Conveyancing Practitioners. |
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Land Registry: New conveyancers and changes to Land Registry’s ID forms |