Guidance Notes and Best Practice Guides

ScotGovNew nutritional guidelines to help improve the health & well being of children & young people in residential care have been published. They are based on similar guidelines introduced in 2008 to support nutritional improvements in school meals, but have been adapted for residential accommodation with input from young people in care, the Care Commission, HMIE, NHS and the Food Standards Agency.
 
The Care Commission will use the new guidelines as the basis for good practice when carrying out future residential care inspections. Similar new guidelines have recently been developed to support schools in implementing the Nutritional Requirements for Food & Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2008 for children & young people who have additional support needs.
Press release ~ Nutritional Guidance for Children and Young People Residential Care Settings ~ Children and young people's views and experiences of food and nutrition in residential care - Consultation report
 
NICENICE has launched a new section of its website, designed to help staff in general practice get the most out of evidence & guidance provided by NICE. Specifically created to support the use of evidence-based medicine & public health practice, this online resource offers solutions to enable the uptake of NICE & other national guidance in primary care, and contains a section on how NICE can help GP consortia.
 
The website has 4 key sections: NICE for my patients, Using NICE guidance in my practice, My NICE resources, and NICE for GP consortia. Each section is easy to access & read, providing targeted information.
Press release ~ NICE and NHS Evidence - practical support for general practice
 
LBRO: The Local Better Regulation Office has developed 2 new tools to supplement its successful Outcomes & Impacts Toolkit, which helps regulators demonstrate the value of their services.  The Toolkit is a step-by-step guide to the development of meaningful indicators to assess the impacts & outcomes of operations, drawing on visual representations called pathways.
 
Now LBRO has designed a new online tool to aid the quick & easy creation of these pathways. This helps users map the pathways which result from the logic modelling which is at the heart of the toolkit.  Before applying this tool, LBRO recommends users stage a workshop with staff & external partners to develop the pathway & indicators relating to outcomes & impacts.

To this end, LBRO has also published a guide for facilitators running such workshops which should help in the design & delivery of the workshop sessions.
Press release ~ Outcomes and Impacts Pathway Tool ~ Outcomes and Impacts Toolkit Summary
 
NICE: In draft guidelines on the diagnosis & treatment of high blood pressure (hypertension) published on 22 February 2011, NICE has made a number of new recommendations that are set to significantly change the way high blood pressure is diagnosed & subsequently treated.
Press release ~ Hypertension update
 
LGA: New guidance is being draw up to improve fire safety in blocks of flats. The Local Government Group has been commissioned to put together the specialist advice which will be used for social & private landlords, risk assessors, fire officers and others in the housing sector.  The new guidance will run alongside existing advice on housing fire safety published in 2008.  As well as dealing with new-build, repair & refurbishment in flats, it will also tackle issues surrounding vandalism.
Press release ~ Details of the new project
 
IfG: As part of the government's drive to realise the Big Society, more & more public services are being encouraged to 'go mutual'.  The Institute for Government and the Public Chairs' Forum (PCF) have published a short report offering practical advice on mutualisation as an alternative model for service delivery in Arms Length Bodies (ALBs). 

Mutualisation – an alternative model for ALBs features comment pieces from the PCF and the IfG which identify & explore some of the broader issues relating to the development & application of ALB mutuals.  
Press release ~ Mutualisation – an alternative model for ALBs ~ Read before Burning report  
 
LGA: The LG Group has launched a new web resource designed to help councils explore ways to save money on their fuel bills & boost revenue by selling energy into the national grid. Compare Renewables provides information on 8 different renewable energy options available to councils, including details on how they work, costs, payback periods and potential returns.
 
The Compare Renewable development team will be presenting the work at the LG Group’s FREE renewable energy event on 14 March 2011 at Local Government House, Smith Square, London.
Press release ~ Compare Renewables ~ Renewable energy in your local area, an opportunity not a threat!
 
FSA: The Food Standards Agency has welcomed new guidelines (published by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence) on the diagnosis & assessment of food allergy in children & young people.
Press release ~ FSA: Food allergy ~ NICE: Diagnosis & assessment of food allergy in children & young people in primary care & community settings
 
NICE: Over 1m people in England are dependent on alcohol, but only a small proportion (around 60,000) currently receives treatment.  In an attempt to improve the situation, NICE has published guidance outlining how the NHS should diagnose, assess & treat the condition.
 
The guideline calls for all relevant health & social care professionals to be able to identify patients who could be misusing alcohol through clinical interviews & internationally recognised assessment tools, such as the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) and the Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire (SADQ).
Press release ~ Alcohol use disorders: diagnosis, assessment and management of harmful drinking and alcohol dependence ~ Alcohol Related Disorders: Towards an Integrated Care Pathway on Tuesday 10 May 2011.
 
ScotGov: Health Secretary, Nicola Sturgeon, has accepted the MRSA National Programme Board's recommendations and new minimum standards for MRSA screening in Scottish hospitals have been unveiled.
 
The expert group's reports have recommended that all patients should be screened on admission - or before admission in the case of planned admissions - using a clinical risk assessment approach to identify risk.  Where a patient is identified as being at risk, they will have swabs taken for further laboratory testing.
Press release ~ Reports of the National MRSA Programme Board
 
HO: New posters warning young people of the risks of using fake ID and guidance to help door staff & those selling alcohol to spot false documents and know what to do once they have confiscated them, have been published by the Home Office.
Press release ~ Challenge 21 ~ Challenge 25 ~ Proof of Age Standard Schemes ~ HO: Alcohol
 
NICENICE has produced 2 new tools to support the recently published guidance on preventing unintentional injuries in children & young people under 15. The two tools - Key facts for local councillors and Ten questions to ask if you are scrutinising local action on preventing unintentional injuries - will help those working in local authorities and local councillors & their staff put NICE's recommendations into practice.
Press release and links
 
HO: New guidelines will help frontline professionals such as nurses, doctors, teachers and social workers identify & prevent Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). The Female Genital Mutilation Act was introduced in 2003 and came into effect in March 2004. The offence attracts a penalty of up to 14 years in prison and/or an unlimited fine.
Press release ~ Multi-agency guidelines
 
DirectgovPeople wanting to adopt can no longer be turned away on the grounds of race, age or social background, following new guidance from the government.  With adoption numbers falling, the aim of the new guidance is to give more children loving homes and the chance of a stable upbringing with adoptive parents.
 
The number of children placed for adoption fell by 15% between March 2009 & 2010. More children are also waiting longer to be adopted, with black children taking on average over 50% longer to be placed for adoption than children from other ethnic groups.
Press release and links ~ DfE: Adoption guidance for local authorities
 
FSA: The Department of Health and the Food Standards Agency have issued revised guidance for parents on the safe preparation & storage of powdered infant formula milk. Powdered infant & follow-on formulas are not sterile, which means they can contain harmful bacteria. So it is important to take care when preparing & storing formula, to reduce the risk of babies becoming ill.  Bacteria will be killed if formula is made up following the advice, which includes using water that is at least 70°C.
Press release ~ Guide to bottle feeding
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