Editorial
This past week has seen the BBC build its profile
further in terms of raising public awareness to many
of the crucial issues confronting social care and
healthcare going forward.
In much of its radio programming, particularly on
Radio 4, there have been features on a variety of
aspects of care.
Yesterday I listened to You & Yours, the listeners
experiences of social care was the topic. Mostly
people talked about trying to get care for a relative or
close friend. Unsurprisingly, most people reported
poor experiences.
Sitting as a panel, expressing views, were Dame
Denise Platt, chair of Commission for Social Care
Inspection, Imelda Redmond, chief executive of
Carers UK and Julia Unwin, director of Joseph
Rowntree Foundation.
In the issue of funding of social care was also
explored. Overwhelmingly, there seemed to be a
majority of listeners willing to contribute to their own
care. However, there was a proviso, namely, that
people want to know, up front, exactly how much the
State will contribute they will then be able to assess
how much they have overall to buy support/care.
The month long series of programmes began with
Gordon Brown as Prime Minister asserting that his
Government’s policies on social care will be
influenced by views expressed by viewers and
listeners to topics raised.
So become engaged and help to influence the
decision takers by becoming and ‘opinion former’.
You can download, as a podcast, many of the
programmes since 7th January.
Parliament
15.01.08 – HoC – NHS and the Mentally Ill and East
Surrey Hospital’s finances, Private Members
Debates; Health & Social Care Bill;
16.01.08 – HoC – Henderson Hospital, Private
Members Debate
Continued...
Next
Abuse
Nothing to report
Business News
1. Priory Group
9 January 2008 - The Times
Report that Philip Scott, ex Southern Cross has been
appointed CEO of Priory Group.
2. Philip Scott New Priory CEO
8 January 2008
Philip Scott has been appointed Chief Executive Officer
at the Priory Group, a leading provider of mental
healthcare and specialist education services.
Scott was previously CEO at Southern Cross Healthcare
Group plc, where he presided over a period of
substantial growth for the company, including its successful
IPO in July 2006.
Priory Group Chairman Hans Michels said, "After a
year of record growth, I am pleased to strengthen
Priory's management team with the arrival of Philip
Scott. I welcome Philip to the company and look forward
to his contribution to the continued growth and
development of Priory as a leading healthcare and
specialist education provider."
Philip Scott commented, "I am delighted to be joining
the team at Priory and look forward to working with
colleagues to further develop the business. Already
recognised as the UK market leader in the fields of
independent mental health and specialist education
provision, I look forward to developing new business
streams that will broaden the range of services operated
by the Priory Group."
3. Cash and the healthcare business – part 2
January 2008 – Healthcare Business
Barry Giddings, Hard Hat Corporate Ltd, sets out his
views about keeping control of the purse strings, controlling
and collecting cash and the positive effect
efficient control has on profitability.
Care Homes
4. Families' legal action over homes
11 January 2008 – BBC News
Relatives of people living in care homes in Coventry
are considering taking legal action to stop the process
of closure.
Coventry City Council is currently undergoing a consultation
for the four homes earmarked for closure,
Eric Williams House, George Rowley House, Jack
Ball House and Hawthorn Lodge.
For full report click here
5. Several readers sent the following item
which they thought would be of interest to
the BHCR readers
In a letter to The Guardian 08 January 2008 “to celebrate
the 60th anniversary of the NHS in homes for
the elderly… staff are now required by the PCT to
ration incontinence pads. To achieve this, residents
are going to be restricted to 1.5 liters of fluid a
day. Denying the elderly – some of whom… built the
NHS – a drink when they want is a cruel way to celebrate”.
6. Accolade for 'great' care home
7 January 2008 – Scarborough Evening News
Gay Sheader, 81 years old praised a care home for
its kindness at Christmas. She was impressed with
the level of care she received whilst staying for
Christmas and New Year at Braeburn House in Moor
Lane, Eastfield.
For full report go to http://
www.scarborougheveningnews.co.uk/news/Accoladefor-
39great39care-home.3643759.jp
Case Reports
Law Reports
7. Camden London Borough v Price-Job
The Court of Appeal held that there is nothing in s.4A
Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to suggest that the
duty to make reasonable adjustments arose only
where an employer knew or ought to have known that
such steps were available.
8. (1) Mr T, (2) Mrs T v (1) Special Educational
Needs Tribunal for Wales, (2) Neath & Port
Talbot County Borough Council
A decision of the Special Educational Needs and Disability
Tribunal that contained inadequate reasons as
to why it had preferred the evidence from a local authority's
experts as to the adequacy of the acoustic
environment of a school named in the statement of
special educational needs for a child who suffered
from profound hearing loss was remitted so that a
statement of its reasons could be made.
9. R (on the application of (1) Priti Hansraj
Chavda (2) Margaret Fitzpatrick (By her
daughter and Litigation Friend Pamela Fitzpatrick)
and Milton George Maos v Harrow
London Borough Council
H proposed, due to financial constraints, to restrict
adult care to people with critical needs. All the applicants
had been in receipt of community care from H
pursuant to s 2(1) Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons
Act 1970.
H had to take into account legislation including Disability
Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) and the Human
Rights Act 1998. Although there was an assessment
of the impact on different service user groups and
found a risk of impact on various individuals there
had been no assessment of the disability equality
duty under s49A DDA.
Accordingly the judicial review would succeed in part.
10. Savage v South Essex Partnership NHS
Foundation Trust
The deceased had a long history of mental illness.
She was detained at Runwell Hospital under
sect 3 Mental Health Act 1983 (MHA) she absconded
and committed suicide. The claim was brought by S,
the deceased daughter for damages asserting that
the NHS Trust breached the deceased’s right to life
under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human
Rights.
The NHS Trust asserted that in order for it to have
legal liability for the death gross negligence or worse
must be established.
The Court of Appeal did not agree and said that patients
detained under the provisions of the MHA were
not in a similar position to an ordinary hospital patient,
but more akin to a prisoner.
Disciplinary cases
Nothing to report
Cases in the news
11. Nurse admits £70k fake wage claim
11 January 2008 – BBC News
Nurse, Hoong Chen-Fatt, 28, has been jailed for
swindling over £70,000 out of the NHS. Chen-Fatt
submitted timesheets and claimed for shifts he had
not worked at the Luton and Dunstable Hospital,
Beds in 2006 to fund his gambling addiction.
He was sentenced to a 27-month prison term.
For full report click here
12. Ombudsman urges council to pay family
full £100,000
11 January 2008 – Community Care
Trafford Council has been told to re-think its offer by
the Local Government Ombudsman after it offered
only a fraction of the recommended compensation to
a family of a young disabled woman.
The council was found guilty of maladministration in
July 2007 after it failed to find a suitable long-term
placement for Daisy, the family’s disabled daughter.
Ombudsman Anne Seex said that the council had
carried out a flawed needs assessment and recommended
that the family be paid £100,000 to reimburse
the cost of caring for Daisy at home since August
2005, as well as for the anxiety and stress
caused.
For full report click here
13. Fine over rats at food warehouse
9 January 2007 – BBC News
Swansea Crown Court has heard that an “extensive”
rat infestation was found at a firm that supplies food
to care homes and schools across west Wales.
Rodent faeces, bird droppings, maggots and dead
rats were found on or close to food at the Skelfayre
warehouse in Pembroke Dock, leading to a large
amount of food being recalled and destroyed after the
find in July 2006.
Skelfayre director Edward Lewis, 67, was fined
£16,900 but the judge heard the company was now
insolvent.
For full report click here
14. Unregistered private healthcare provider
sentenced
9 January 2008 – Healthcare Commission
The Healthcare Commission secured the second conviction
of an unregistered provider for the continued
provision of laser services, when unregistered.
Mohammed Sadiq was sentenced for offences under
the Care Standards Act 2000, which requires providers
who use a class 3B or 4 laser to register with the
Healthcare Commission.
For full report go to http://www.healthcarecommission.org.uk//
newsandevents/pressreleases.cfm?
cit_id=5961&FAArea1=customWidgets.content_view_1&useca
che=false
15. Drunk nurse placed under caution
9 January 2007 – BBC News
Bridget Sheridan, 53 was placed under caution for
three years for being drunk and falling asleep whilst
on duty. The conduct hearing heard she was found
asleep in a resident’s room at Ashgrove Nursing
Home in 2005 and failed to give medication to two of
her patients.
Her work will now be supervised at all times. She
said at the time she had just come through an episode
of domestic violence and was trying to cope
with the impact.
For full report click here
16. Woman 'found dead in wheelchair'
7 January 2007 – BBC News
An inquest hard that a 74-year-old woman died after
being left in a wheelchair overnight in a private nursing
home.
Brigid O'Callaghan was found with the chair's seat
belt around her neck at Amberley Court nursing
home in Edgbaston, Birmingham, currently run by
BUPA.
The inquest is expected to last a week.
For full report click here
Children
17. Children and Young Persons Bill debated
in House of Lords
10 January 2008 – Community Care
During a debate on the Children and Young Persons
Bill, Liberal Democrat and crossbench peers raised
concerns about current plans to pilot a GP-style
practice to provide social work services to lookedafter
children.
The MPs spoke of their concerns that the practices
may fragment local children’s services, cherry pick
the easiest cases and cream off the best local practitioners.
For full report click here
Conferences & Courses
To follow next week
Consultations
18. Have your say – Consultation on the
regulations for Local Involvement Networks
(LINks)
Closing date: 21 December 2007
The Government is aiming to strengthen the ability of
local communities to influence what health and social
care services are provided and how they are run. The
Local Government and Public Involvement in Health
Bill contain proposals to establish Local Involvement
Networks (LINks) to help achieve this aim. LINks will
have specific powers to hold local health and social
care services to account. This consultation document
outlines draft versions of these regulations, explains
more about them, and asks for views and comments
on them.
For consultation click here
19. NICE: Current consultations
To browse through consultations go to http://
www.nice.org.uk/page.aspx?o=consultations.current
20. The Responsible Pharmacist: Consultation
on the Content of the Responsible Pharmacist
Regulation
Closing Date: 20 January 2008
This paper sets out proposals for the content of the
Responsible Pharmacist Regulations that follow on
from changes to the Medicines Act 1968 through the
Health Act 2006. There currently a statutory requirement
on Ministers to consult on changes to the Medicines
Act.
For full consultation click here
21. NHS Identity Scheme for Dental Practices:
Providing NHS dentistry
Closing Date: 21 January 2008
A consultation seeking views on proposals to introduce
quality criteria in association with the roll-out of
increased use of the NHS identity in selected primary
care dental practices.
For full report click here
22. Mental Health: Draft Revised Code of
Practice and Secondary Legislation
Closing Date: 24 January 2008
DoH are now consulting on the draft revised Mental
Health Act 1983 Code of Practice and draft secondary
legislation under the Mental Health Act 2007 (the
2007 Act).
The consultation is relevant to all NHS and social
care managers and professional staff with responsibility
for services for people with mental health problems.
For full report click here
23. Future of the Standing Dental Advisory
Committee: consultation document
Closing Date: 31 January 2008
This consultation document explains how the Department
has made increasing use of bodies like the National
Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
(NICE), and subject specific committees, for obtaining
clinical advice in dentistry; and also proposes that the
Standing Dental Advisory Committee (SDAC) be
abolished.
For full consultation click here
24. National Studies Consultation for Health
2008-09
Closing Date: 31 January 2008
A consultation describing details of a proposed studies
programme for 2008-09. It is seeking responses
on the programme's usefulness and appropriateness,
the scope and timing of individual studies, and potential
for overlap and collaboration with others.
For full consultation click here
25. Protection of Vulnerable Groups
(Scotland) Act 2007: Secondary Legislation
Closing Date: 12 February 2008
Proposals for secondary legislation required to implement
the vetting and barring scheme introduced
through the Protection of Vulnerable Groups
(Scotland) Act 2007.
The new scheme will not only collect disclosure information
but also assess it, and will continue to collect
vetting information about an individual after the initial
disclosure check has been made. There will be a
separate children's and adult's list and the scheme
will remove the need for continued disclosure. The
lists will be managed by a Central Barring Unit
(CBU).
For consultation click here
26. Towards a framework for postregistration
nursing careers: a national consultation
Closing date: 15 February 2008
This consultation sets out options for a new careers
framework for post registration nursing. It fulfills a
commitment in Modernising Nursing Careers setting
the direction (2006) to align nursing careers with the
NHS Careers Framework and develop new career
paths for nursing. It proposes a framework built
around patient care pathways and seeks responses
from as many people as possible before any further
work is done.
For consultation click here
27. Comprehensive Area Assessment consultation
launched
Closing Date: 15 February 2008
CSCI is asking for you to have your say on how the
Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA), the new
independent report on whether people are getting
value for money from their local services, will work.
For full report click here
28. Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act
2006/Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups
(Northern Ireland) Order 2007, policy consultation
document
Closing Date: 20 February 2008
The implementation of the Independent Safeguarding
Authority scheme under the Safeguarding Vulnerable
Groups Act 2006 will introduce the most stringent
vetting and barring service yet with the scheme protecting
both children and vulnerable adults by preventing
those who are known to pose a risk of harm
from accessing these groups through their work. The
consultation is seeking views on a wide range of policy
issues that will ensure the successful implementation
of the Act.
For full consultation click here
29. Childcare Act 2006: Future approach to
fees and subsidies
Closing Date: 20 February 2008
Consultation seeking views on the proposed structure
and level of fees payable to Ofsted by childcare providers
joining the Early Years Register or compulsory
part of the Ofsted Childcare Register from September
2008. It also proposes changes to subsidy arrangements.
For full consultation click here
30. Transforming tribunals: Consultation
Document
Closing Date: 22 February 2008
The tribunals service has just produced its consultation
document. This document will have a very significant
impact on the future of the Care Standards
Tribunal.
It is available for downloading on http://www.tribunals.gov.uk/
latestnews.htm
31. Consultation on the Health Care and Associated
Professions Order 2008
Closing Date: 22 February 2008
Consultation seeking views on the Healthcare and
Associated Professions Order, which is the first in a
series of orders that will take forward the reforms for
professional regulation identified in the white paper,
Trust, Assurance and Safety.
For full consultation click here
32. Improving health, supporting justice: a
consultation
Closing Date: 4 March 2008
The publication of this document is the start of a consultation
process on how health and social care services
can be improved for people subject to the criminal
justice system. This is a joint initiative between
the Department of Health, Department of Children,
Schools and Families, Ministry of Justice, Youth Justice
Board and the Home Office.
For full report click here
33. Finding a Shared Vision of How People's
Mental Health Problems Should Be Understood:
Consultation on guidance
Closing Date: 5 March 2008
Consultation seeking views on draft guidance on how
people’s mental health problems should be understood.
The guidance is aimed at everyone involved in
the development and delivery of services, including
people that use services and their carers.
For full consultation click here
34. Improving Specialist Disability Employment
Services: Public consultation
Closing Date: 10 March 2008
This consultation seeks views on proposals to reform
the department's disability employment services that
help disabled people who have complex issues to
find, retain and progress in work. The department is
interested to hear from disabled people, employers
and organisations who represent the interests of disabled
people.
For full consultation go to http://www.dwp.gov.uk/
resourcecentre/des-consultation.asp
35. A better life for people with learning disabilities
4 December 2007 - GNN
Care Services Minister Ivan Lewis launched a consultation
to seek views on the priorities for learning
disability for the next three years.
'Valuing People Now - From Progress to Transformation'
is a cross-government consultation which sets
the agenda across a range of issues, including
health and well-being, housing, employment, education
and community inclusion. It builds on the vision
set out in Valuing People (2001) which was the first
white paper on learning disability for thirty years - a
vision based on the four main principles of rights,
independence, choice and inclusion.
The key areas it will focus on are:
* the personalisation agenda - having choice and
control through individual budgets, direct payments,
person centred planning and advocacy;
* what people do - helping people to be socially included
in their local communities, with a particular
focus on paid work;
* better health - ensuring that the mainstream NHS
provides full and equal access to good quality healthcare
and that specialist healthcare services are modernised;
* access to housing - ensuring that people have access
to housing that they want and need with a focus
on home ownership and real tenancies;
* making sure that change happens - making learning
disability partnership boards more effective and
checking that the things we say should happen do
actually happen.
The consultation will run until 11th March 2008 and
can be accessed at: http://www.dh.gov.uk
36. Health Care and Associated Professions
(Miscellaneous Amendments) No 2 Order
2008 - a paper for consultation
Closing Date: 22 March 2008
An order, the second in a series of orders that will
take forward the reforms of professional regulation
identified in the White Paper "Trust assurance and
safety". It concentrates on reforms set out in the
White Paper, but also includes measures required to
deliver other legislative requirements.
For consultation click here
37. Ofsted Race Equality Scheme: Consultation
Closing Date: 31 March 2008
This consultation seeks views on Ofsted's revised
Race Equality Scheme, which sets out methods to
eliminate discrimination, foster good race relations
and promote equality of opportunity in response to
the requirements of the Race Relations (Amendment)
Act 2000.
For consultation click here
CSCI, CSSIW, Healthcare
Commission &
Scottish Care Commission
38. MHAC, CSCI and Healthcare Commission
critical of merger plans
10 January 2008 – Community Care
Concerns about the merger of CSCI, Healthcare
Commission and Mental Health Act Commission have
been expressed by the same three bodies.
The bodies are due to be merged into a new Care
Quality Commission, in an evidence hearing to the
parliamentary committee considering the Health and
Social Care Bill. The concerns included the new
commission itself and proposed significant changes
to the legislation.
For full report click here
39. Bonfire of quangos ‘is unnecessary and
puts patient safety at risk’
9 January 2008 - The Times
Sir Ian Kennedy, chair of CHAI (Healthcare Commission),
told MPs that Gordon Brown’s ‘bonfire of the
quangos’ which is due to see Commission for Social
Care Inspection, Healthcare Commission and Mental
Health Act Commission abolished and replaced by a
new super-regulator, the Care Quality Commission,
was neither necessary nor desirable. The explanation
that the new regulator would have greater enforcement
powers did not mean that a new regulator
was needed.
40. Unregistered private healthcare provider
sentenced
9 January 2008 – Healthcare Commission
For full report go to Case Reports – item 14
41. CSCI gives evidence to the Public Bill
Committee
9 January 2008 – CSCI
On Tuesday 8 January, CSCI gave oral evidence to
the Health and Social Care Public Bill Committee
and you can read a full transcript at the link below.
For full report click here
42. GSCC has referred one social worker to
CSCI
8 January 2008 – Community Care
It has been revealed under the Freedom of Information
Act, that the General Social Care Council has
only ever referred one social worker, a care manager,
to CSCI. Sir Rodney Brooke, GSCC chairman
revealed the information to clarify that the GSCC
only had statutory powers to regulate the social care
workforce, and not the social care services, as is
generally believed.
For full report click here
43. Care and social services in Wales improve
but quality inconsistent
8 January 2008 – National Care Forum
Rob Pickford, Chief Inspector of the Care and Social
Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) has announced
that care and social services in Wales improved
during 2006-07, but that the quality of some
services remains inconsistent.
The announcement was made in the new inspectorate’s
first annual report published on Tuesday 8
January.
For full report click here
44. Rise in online care service checks
7 January 2008 – Scottish Care Commission
According to the Scottish Care Commission, more
people than ever are going online to check how good
a care service is.
For full report click here
45. People who use services wanted for BME
workshops
7 January 2008 – CSCI
CSCI is looking for black and minority ethnic (BME)
people who use social care services to help them
with a series of workshops due to start in February
2008.
For full report click here
Education
46. Tooke delivers verdict on medical training
8 January 2008
The final report on the inquiry into Modernising Medical
Careers has been published, by a team headed
by Sir John Tooke. The report proposes the creation
of a new body, NHS Medical Education England, to
manage postgraduate medical training.
Ireland, Scotland & Wales
Ireland
Nothing to report
Scotland
47. Nurses' uniform probe concludes
11 January 2008 – BBC News
The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR)
has warned NHS Tayside that using charity funds to
buy basic equipment should only be a “one off”. The
caution came after £400,000 of donations was used
to buy nurses’ uniforms in 2004.
However, OSCR ruled that the purchase of the garments
was permitted because they improved staff
working conditions but the organisation also said that
it was not in the public interest for its inquiry to continue
any longer.
For full report click here
48. Docs Unite In Row Over A&E Threat
9 January 2008 – Evening Times
Consultants: Monklands A&E Changes Will
Put Patients At Risk
9 January 2008 – The Herald
Every casualty consultant in Lanarkshire is calling on
the Government to reject health board plans for the
threatened casualty unit at Monklands Hospital.
Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon refused to accept
NHS Lanarkshire's earlier decision to shut the unit
and set up a scrutiny panel to examine plans for
emergency care, however, fresh proposals from the
board to remove intensive care facilities from the unit
have united doctors in the area against the plans.
49. Health board elections outlined
8 January 2007 – BBC News
The Scottish Government has announced plans for
direct elections to health boards to help boost public
confidence in the health service.
Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said many Scots’
perceptions were that health authorities had not always
properly listened to local views. The proposal
will be outlined in draft legislation to be brought before
parliament in the summer.
For full report click here
Wales
50. A&E's 15-minute ambulance target
8 January 2007 – BBC News
Welsh A&E departments have been given a 15-
minute target to get patients out of ambulances when
arriving at hospital. Health Minister Edwina Hart has
set the time limit to avoid ambulance queues outside
A&E units and free them up for other emergencies.
The Welsh Assembly Government said staff already
worked towards the target but from April it would be
mandatory.
For full report click here
51. Commissioner for Older People
7 January 2008 – Welsh Assembly Government
website
The Welsh Assembly Government has appointed
Ruth Marks as Commissioner for Older People in
Wales.
Learning Disabilities
52. Council to close city care home
8 January 2007 – BBC News
A residential care home for adults with learning disabilities,
Pittsburgh House in Meir, is set to close. It
currently homes nine people but the city council said
it was old fashioned with no lift and no en-suite accommodation.
The Council has started a three-month consultation
offering alternatives with better provisions.
For full report click here
Legislation Update
Nothing to report
Mental Health
53. Courts failing to issue treatment orders
9 January 2008 – Community Care
A Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health report has
claimed that courts are not referring people with mental
health problems for treatment when they issue
community sentences.
Less than 1% of the 120,000 people issued with community
orders in 2006 were given a mental health
treatment requirement. This is in spite of figures estimating
that half of people on community orders have
at least one mental health problem.
For full report click here
To read the report go to www.scmh.org.uk
Miscellaneous
54. I can afford to smile after my trip to Hungary
13 January 2008 - The Mail on Sunday
Item about medical tourism. 40,000 Britons went
overseas in 2007 for dental work. Focus on Helen
Loveless who needed £10 - £12,000 of cosmetic dental
work used revahealth.com to find dentists who
could undertake the work which began with a consultation
in Harley Street, London. The full course of
treatment cost £4,700.
55. Norovirus advice broadcast on web
11 January 2008 – BBC News
Dr Syed Ahmed of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
has issued advice on the Norovirus via a web broadcast.
He talks through steps the public can take to
minimise the risk of sickness and diarrhoea. Up to
100,000 people are catching the virus every week
across the UK.
He said "Good hygiene, particularly regular hand
washing is key to preventing further spread of the
virus".
For full report click here
56. Vomiting bug 'hits three million'
11 January 2008 – BBC News
For full report click here
57. Frustration Is To Blame For Rise In Attacks
On Docs
10 January 2008 – Evening Times
Doctors do not report attacks
10 January 2008 - The Times
One in three doctors report having been verbally or
physically in the past 12 months. Most did not report
it.
58. GSCC urges talks on sexual boundaries
code
11 January 2008 – Community Care
The General Social Care Council has expressed a
wish to develop codes of practice on sexual boundaries
for social care staff. The body says that this is
the one issue that keeps recurring in its conduct
cases and follows the publication of guidance by the
Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence. The
guidance sets out clear boundaries between health
professionals and patients.
For full report click here
To see the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence report
go to www.chre.org.uk
59. Government announces major investment
in drug treatment services
10 January 2008 - GNN
Public Health Minister Dawn Primarolo announced
£398m funding for drug treatment for 2008/09 to
build on the successes of existing drug treatment
programmes.
Record levels of investment have delivered record
numbers entering and staying in drug treatment services.
195,000 people received treatment in 2006/07,
130% more than in 1998.
The Drug Treatment Budget is changing to a system
of allocations per person treated, rather than by formula,
thus ensuring that the investment goes where
it is most needed. This change is occurring over four
years to ensure that the resources secure the best
return in regards to the delivery of effective treatment.
60. Call for quicker drug decisions
10 January 2008 – BBC News
MPs are calling for a faster, more streamlined system
of assessing treatments for the NHS in England,
Wales and Northern Ireland.
A Commons Committee suggested that the National
Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence should
adopt a "rough and ready" approach, similar to Scotland,
a Commons committee said.
For full report click here
61. Woman's anger over cancer drug
9 January 2007 – BBC News
Barbara Moss, 53, is calling for a cancer drug to be
made available on the NHS. Ms Moss paid £10,000
for Avastin after being given three months to live, but
doctors now say she has a 40% chance of survival.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
(NICE) say that the drug does make tumours
smaller, but it doesn’t extend life long enough to
make it cost effective.
Ms Moss now needs another course.
For full report click here
62. Hospital bug strategy is set out
9 January 2007 – BBC News
Ministers have announced a raft of measures aimed
at tackling potentially lethal hospital infections including
more infection control nurses, patient screening,
deep cleaning and a campaign to cut use of antibiotics.
MRSA and C.difficile rates are now falling but are still
causing thousands of death every year.
For full report click here
63. Support for ‘home-grown’ doctors
9 January 2008 - The Times, Letters to the Editor
Letters from Dr Steve Parry and Dr Bruce Mein who
challenge the views of Hamish Meldrum and Terry
John of the BMA who supported the decision of the
High Court that there should be a global open field in
selection of junior doctors.
64. GP out of hours service
It looks like the Govt is raising the stakes in its standoff
with GPs over opening surgeries, later in the evenings,
earlier in the mornings and at weekends. The
Department of Health has engaged Ipsos MORI to
poll a cross section of the public to gauge satisfaction
levels with current GP services. Questions are asked
about whether patients can book appointments ahead
more than two days – we all remember Tony Blair,
then Prime Minister, being flummoxed by a questioner
on just that issue during pre-election television
debate. Other questions are directly about demand
for Saturday and Sunday opening.
The BMA will need to be swift to gather a solid body
of evidence to support its position on this issue.
65. Overseas doctors
8 January 2008 - The Times, Letters to the Editor
Dr Hamish Meldrum, Chairman of Council, BMA, and
Dr Terry John, Chairman BMA international Committee
write in support of the court judgement which
ruled that Government guidance which made it harder
for overseas doctors to apply for training contracts
was unlawful.
66. Director of Nursing & Midwifery
8 January 2008 - The Times
A job advert placed by Wirral University Teaching
Hospital NHS Foundation Trust offering £85,000 for
the post – more if you are an exceptional candidate.
67. Department of Health ‘must be stripped of
doctors’ training role’
8 January 2008 - The Times
Sir John Tooke’s committee has recommended that
the chaotic mismanagement of doctors training
should not remain with the DoH and must be placed
in the hands of a new body and the cash for training
should be ‘ringfenced’ within the NHS.
68. New doctor training body 'needed'
8 January 2007 – BBC News
A report by Professor Sir John Tooke is calling for the
Government to be stripped of its responsibility for
training junior doctors in England. The professor was
asked to look at the system after last year’s chaos
when 30,000 doctors were competing for 20,000 NHS
training jobs.
Sir John has called for a new body, NHS Medical
Education England to manage the postgraduates
medical training and to also have responsibility for
liaising with the devolved administrations in Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland.
For full report click here
69. Brown signals individual budget u-turn
on healthcare
8 January 2008 – Community Care
Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has indicated that the
Government would end its opposition against extending
individual budgets to healthcare.
He made the statement in his speech on the NHS
and said that where appropriate, the extension of
choice in healthcare could "include the offer of a personal
health budget, giving patients spending power
and thus a real choice of services". It will most likely
apply to those patients who have long-term conditions.
For full report click here
70. King’s Fund statement on the Prime Minister’s
health speech
7 January 2007 – King’s Fund
The King’s Fund has issued a statement on the
Prime Minister’s health speech.
For full report click here
71. Protest over higher care charges
7 January 2007 – BBC News
Campaigners are staging a protest to mark the first
day of increased charges for home care services in
Fife.
Fife Council carried out an impact study on the
charge and concluded that the move could be implemented,
but the charge has been branded illegal because
it is being introduced without any research into
the effects it could have on the people who will pay it.
For full report click here
72. New Healthcare Agenda
7 January 2008 - BBC Radio 4, Today
Abandon the bill
7 January 2008 - The Financial Times
With the NHS 60th anniversary almost upon us the
Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, set out his vision of
personal healthcare and preventative healthcare
practice.
Having individualised budgets and a common regulatory
system is, in his view, key to the future development
of such a vision.
A central aspect to the Health and Social Care Bill is
the abolition of the current regulators and the replacement
with a new super-regulator, something which
the author is opposed to arguing for stability.
73. Chair for Pandemic Influenza Advisory
Group
7 January 2008 - GNN
Experts around the world share the view that a global
pandemic of influenza could emerge and could cause
millions of deaths. It is not possible to predict when
this will occur. In the UK alone, a pandemic could
affect 25-50% of the population and cause up to
750,000 deaths. It is therefore imperative that the UK
has robust preparations for an influenza pandemic in
place.
As part of the UK's pandemic influenza preparation,
the Department of Health established a Scientific Advisory
Group on Pandemic Influenza (SAG), which
advised on the scientific evidence base for healthrelated
pandemic influenza policies. As part of a
process to ensure SAG is more flexible and independent,
Professor Sir Gordon Duff has been appointed
as an external Chair of the group.
More information on the Scientific Advisory group on
Pandemic Influenza is available at: http://
www.advisorybodies.doh.gov.uk/sagpf/index.htm
More information on the Pandemic Preparedness activities
of the Department of Health is available at:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/PandemicFlu/index.htm
74. 77% of all Legionnaires’ Disease cases
are in the “over 50” age group
January 2008 – Healthcare Business
Item which considers steps to control the bacteria,
Legionella, which causes the disease and that failure
to do so may result in care providers being prosecuted
under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate
Homicide Act 2007.
75. The great moral question and the political
dilemma
January 2008 – Healthcare Business
A look at the pressures of how to fund social and
healthcare. Whether it should be free at the point of
delivery, paid for by those in receipt – where they can
afford to or some mix.
NHS
76. Rationing the NHS
13 January 2008 - The Sunday Times, Letters to
the Editor
Letters from a variety of people about their experiences
including Roy Milnes whose mother survived
an overdose which she had taken because of her
poor quality of life consequent on an incurable muscle
wasting disease. She was keep on life support
for nine months.
A letter articulating the point that as 50% of the NHS
budget is spent on the over 64s and that sustaining
life in the older age group will become unsupportable
financially.
77. Trusts encouraged to recruit antiinfection
Staff
10 January 2008
Govt is making £45m available to hospitals to recruit
staff to fight hospital acquired infections.
78. Statistical press notice NHS Referral To
Treatment (RTT) times data October 2007
10 January 2008 - GNN
* The NHS Improvement Plan, published in July
2004, stated "By 2008, no one will have to wait
longer than 18 weeks from GP referral to hospital
treatment..." - DH PSA target 13. This data is being
used to monitor progress towards this target.
* A data completeness assessment is being published
alongside the reported figures in order to aid
interpretation of the data.
Table 1 - RTT data by Strategic Health Authority
(commissioner based) - admitted and non-admitted
data - October 2007
* Table 1 shows the proportion of patients seen within
18 weeks by Strategic Health Authority for admitted
and non-admitted pathways.
* The data is accompanied by a data completeness
assessment for each Strategic Health Authority.
* The data completeness assessment compares the
number of completed pathways with a known clock
start reported in the RTT return against the expected
number of pathways.
* In total, 319,000 admitted patients and 911,000
non-admitted patients, for whom English commissioners
are responsible, completed their RTT pathway
during October 2007.
* The NHS reported both the clock stop and the clock
start for 267,000 (84%) of completed admitted pathways
and 870,000 (96%) of completed non-admitted
pathways.
* Of those pathways with both a known clock stop
and a known clock start, 60% of admitted patients
and 77% of non-admitted patients completed their
referral to treatment pathway within 18 weeks.
The Department of Health published the 18 Weeks
Rules Suite on 28 November 2007. The documents
can be found at:
http://www.18weeks.nhs.uk/public/default.aspx?
load=ArticleViewer&ArticleId=413
Full details of RTT data for individual organisations is
available at:
http://www.performance.doh.gov.uk/rtt/
79. Government announces major investment
in drug treatment services
10 January 2008 - GNN
For full report see Miscellaneous—item 59
80. Clean, safe care: reducing infections and
saving lives
9 January 2008 – DoH
A document drawing together recent initiatives to
tackle healthcare associated infections and improve
cleanliness and details new areas where the NHS
should consider investing to ensure that patients receive
clean and safe treatment whenever and wherever
they are treated by the NHS.
For full report click here
81. Extra specialist staff for tackling hospital
infections
8 January 2008 - GNN
Every hospital trust in England will be able to recruit
two infection control nurses, two isolation nurses and
an antimicrobial pharmacist with millions of pounds of
extra investment for infection control in the NHS,
Health Secretary Alan Johnson announced.
This funding will allow local organisations to invest up
to £45m on additional specialist staff*, who play a
crucial role in cleanliness and infection prevention &
control.
Alan Johnson said: "We have gone from what has
been described by the HPA as 'a seemingly unstoppable
rise in MRSA bloodstream infections throughout
the 1990s' to a 10% fall in cases of MRSA, thanks
to the hard work and dedication of NHS staff, but we
know that there is still more to be done.
81. Extra specialist staff for tackling hospital
infections (continued…)
"The investment of an extra £270 million and this
strategy will help the NHS to continue the good work
going forward. Patients have my assurance that the
Government will not take its foot off the pedal and
will continue to do all we can to tackle infection."
From February 2008, a new nationwide campaign
will be launched to remind the public, GPs and other
doctors that using antibiotics is not effective on many
common ailments. The campaign will also highlight
that inappropriate use of antibiotics can increase the
emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains of infections
and that prudent prescribing is therefore required.
As well as recently announced initiatives including a
new 'Bare Below the Elbows' dress code and every
hospital to have undergone a deep clean by March
2008, the Strategy outlines further areas that the Department
is leading on to support the NHS in the fight
against HCAIs.
'Clean, safe care' sets out where there are national
expectations and requirements for the NHS in tackling
HCAIs- but also guides NHS organisations as to
the actions and investment that will be most effective
in continuing to tackle infection and improve cleanliness
in their local area. The document is also written
with patients, public and staff in mind. It can be found
at http://www.dh.gov.uk.
82. Chronically ill to get care budgets to
choose their treatment on NHS
8 January 2008 - The Times
Gordon Brown used a speech to mark the beginning
of the NHS 60th anniversary to launch his ideas about
personal budgets – currently only available for longterm
social care for older people and the disabled.
83. This is a bad case of verbal diarrhoea and
projectile promising
8 January 2008 - The Times
Prime Minister Gordon Brown re-launches
political agenda
7 January 2008 - BBC Radio 4, Today
The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, gave a foretaste
of a speech to mark the 60th anniversary of the NHS
he indicated his preference for individualised budgets
for those with chronic healthcare problems, an approach
currently available for social care.
84. Brown pledges superbug screening
6 January 2007 BBC TV, Andrew Marr Show
Patients going into English NHS hospitals are to be
screened for MRSA and C. difficile, the PM has
said. Gordon Brown said that tackling hospitalacquired
infections was an "absolute priority".
For full report click here
85. In full: Brown speech on the NHS
7 January 2007 – BBC News
The full text of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's
speech on the NHS screening plans:
For full report click here
86. Cancer woman threatens to sue NHS
7 January 2007 – BBC News
Debbie Hirst, 56, is threatening to sue the NHS for
breach of her human rights in a row over a drug that
could potentially extend her life.
She wants to pay privately for the breast cancer drug
Avastin but has been told that if she starts taking it
privately her free treatment on the NHS, including
scans and blood tests, will end.
The government says it could lead to a two-tier system.
For full report click here
87. MRSA 'could be treated at home'
7 January 2007 – BBC News
Experts have announced that up to a third of people
with MRSA could actually be treated at home with
antibiotics. This could potentially save the NHS significant
sums of money.
The issue was discussed by independent experts in a
report, funded by the drug company Pfizer, about
managing MRSA. The Department of Health responded
by saying that treatment at home was not
always appropriate, but it was an option for trusts to
examine.
For full report click here
88. MP attacks NHS emergency system
7 January 2007 – BBC News
Dr Richard Taylor, Wyre Forest MP has criticised the
NHS for not having enough beds to cope with emergencies
across Worcestershire.
He said the current system was not working due to
insufficient beds being available and operations being
cancelled a couple of weeks ago.
For full report click here
Nursing
89. Nurses 'too busy', family claims
8 January 2007 – BBC News
An 81-year-old woman’s relatives say they had to
feed her in hospital themselves because staff were
“too busy” to.
The patient was suffering from dementia and lost a
stone during her two-month stay at Leicester General
Hospital. The Trust said that 90% of its patients were
happy with their service.
For full report click here
Older People
90. Neglect led to home death
11 January 2008 - The Times
Woman ‘found dead in wheelchair’
8 January 2008 - BBC News online
Widow ‘found strangled by wheelchair belt in
Bupa home’
8 January 2008 - Daily Mail
An inquest in Birmingham into the death of Brigid
O’Callaghan, 74, in 2005 in a BUPA care home
made a finding of accidental death. The deceased
had been strangled by a safety belt on a wheelchair;
the jury said there had been six ‘gross failures’ in her
care including leaving the deceased unchecked overnight.
91. Worn-out slippers replaced free
11 January 2008 – BBC News
Hull’s elderly are being encouraged to part with their
favourite worn-out pair of slippers to receive a brandnew,
firm-fitting pair for free.
The plan to prevent falls and injuries among pensions
will be launched this week by groups concerned
with the welfare of the elderly.
For full report click here
92. Survey to examine attitudes to life in care
for older people
9 January 2008 – NCF
A new survey is being conducted by Roger Clough of
Eskrigge Social Research to gain a better understanding
of what people value about life in a residential
care home or nursing home.
The survey was launched with an article in Society
Guardian (www.societyguardian.co.uk).
For a long time it was assumed that living in a home
is second best, a perspective that may undermine
those who live and work in homes but there is also no
doubt that there are thousands of people who enjoy
life in a home and would rather be there than anywhere
else.
For full report click here
93. Elderly care funding reform plea
7 January 2007 – BBC News
A consultation of 700 people by the King’s Fund
shows that most people would be happy to contribute
to the costs of long-term care for the elderly as long
as there was a fairer system.
The resulting report showed high levels of dissatisfaction
with means testing and the “postcode lottery”
over social care entitlements.
For full report click here
94. RNHA welcomes dementia care report
January 2008 – Healthcare Business
Frank Ursell, CEO Registered Nursing Homes Association,
welcomed the Alzheimer’s Society call for
government to provide greater funding for specialist
training of care home staff.
Parliament
18.01.08 – HoL - Kidney Transplant Bill [HL] Second
Reading. If the bill is read a second time, Baroness
Finlay of Llandaff to move that the bill be committed
to a Committee of the Whole House.
Social Care
95. Commissioning Framework for Health
and Well-being: Response to consultation
11 January 2008 – DoH
The commissioning framework for health and wellbeing
sets out the eight steps that health and social
care should take in partnership to commission more
effectively. This document summarises responses to
a consultation on the framework.
For full report click here
96. GSCC: ‘Discriminatory health statement
must go'
9 January 2008 – Community Care
The General Social Care Council is asking the Government
to drop current requirements for social workers
to declare physical or mental health conditions
when applying for registration.
For full report click here
97. Carers Grant 2008-2011
7 January 2008 – DoH
A good practice guidance is issued every year along
with monies to enable councils to support carers. This
is monitored by the Commission for Social care Inspection.
For full report click here
Staff, employment and
disciplinary
98. New Skills for Care survey reveals happy
but unappreciated social care workforce
14 January 2008
A survey of 500 workers has revealed most are
happy in their work but only 39% considered that
their work was appreciated and many said that there
was little understanding of their work.
Skills for Care Chair Donald Hoodless said:
“The fact that a sizeable majority of the one million
people who work in social care in England feel their
work is undervalued reinforces the problems we
have in making sure their work with some of the most
vulnerable people in our society is properly recognised
by the general public.
“We are going to need more and more care workers
to meet the needs of an aging population and the
general public’s negative view of care work means it
will be difficult for the sector to recruit people returning
to work or young people to replace those staff”.
99. Work permit reprieve too little too late,
say providers
10 January 2008 – Community Care
Care providers have told the Government that concessions
on allowing overseas senior carers to renew
work permits fall very short and are too late for
those who have already left the UK.
The message was sent from providers after the Border
and Immigration Agency (BIA) increased the
number of senior care workers from outside the European
Economic Area who can renew permits.
For full report click here
100. Immigration – judicial review
January 2008 – Healthcare Business
Martin Green, CEO of English Community Care Association,
talks of his organisation’s actions prior to
the proposed launch of judicial review proceedings.
His frustrations with bureaucrats shines
through.
Disaster planning
Is flu pandemic about to strike?
We saw many care providers struck last summer by
unexpected floods. Many did not have disaster recovery
plans but received ad hoc help from their insurers
and insurance brokers in dealing with the consequences.
This week it looks like flooding may
again be a feature of the next few days.
I recently read that many of the local authority care
homes that were damaged are not likely to re-open
at all, such was the damage, both to the physical
environment of the home and also to the underlying
business.
Private, charitable and not for profit providers of social
care must be more pragmatic than local authorities
social care provision (local authorities engage in
extensive disaster planning and rehearsals) and plan
for disasters; have a disaster recovery plan which
key people in the organisation know and understand,
and who are able to ensure that it swings into action
as soon as it is needed. This will enable their service
is to survive the unexpected disasters.
So, what are your plans for addressing a national
influenza pandemic?
A flu pandemic, we are told, is long overdue. Such a
pandemic killed millions in 1918, known as ‘Spanish
flu’, it is believed to have resulted in the deaths of
more than 50 million people world wide of whom
about 250,000 died in the UK.
In the last couple of years we have become all too
acquainted with the ‘Bird Flu’ H5N1 which was apparently
responsible for a number of deaths in the
Far East and which has crossed continents in the
wild bird populations. In the past two weeks there
were three dead swans in the England killed by
H5N1. The present threat is whether and when the
virus will mutate and cross the ‘species boundary’ to
humans.
This is a risk which the UK Government now takes
very seriously.
On 22 November 2007 Alan Johnson, Secretary of
State for Health, published a new plan to increase the
state of preparedness to respond to a possible flu
pandemic. As part of this plan the Department of
Health entered into contracts with two pharmaceutical
companies to supply flu vaccine – enough for the entire
population once the strain of virus has been identified.
By which time of course many will already be
infected. There will, naturally, be some delay from
initial identification of the virus strain to the production
of large volumes of vaccine and delivering those
stocks to vaccination points. However, it does show
that thought has been given to the perceived threat
and that there are some sensible plans in place.
In making the plans public, Mr Johnson said:
"The threat of an influenza pandemic remains real.
Whilst it is not possible to predict its timing or severity,
the top priority for the Government is to do all we
possibly can to protect the public. Our
arrangements are kept constantly under review, ensuring
we keep abreast of emerging expert evidence
and advice.”
Meanwhile, Government resolved to increase the
stock of antivirals – enough for about 50% of the
population, to secure 14.5 million courses of antibiotics
to cover the ‘at risk’ groups and it has said it will
be buying 350 million surgical masks and 34 million
respirators for the NHS.
The current ‘stockpile’ of H5N1 vaccine, some 3.3
million doses, is earmarked for healthcare workers.
Of course, for small businesses a pandemic would
represent a business critical issue and if a substantial
part of the workforce is prevented by illness, or the
fear of contracting the illness, production will fall and
businesses of all kinds may collapse. This too is not
lost on Government which needs the country to have
an effective and productive workforce in order to generate
taxes. Mr Johnson also said:
"We know a pandemic would have significant social
and economic impact as well as a serious effect on
the health of the population. A thorough and integrated
response is therefore critical to lessening
its overall effect.”
In planning for an effective response to the threat
posed by a flu pandemic one needs to make some
assumptions about levels of likely infection – we are
told to assume infection rates of between 25% and
50% of the population.
Some large businesses have already made some
plans and have entered into their own arrangements
with pharmaceutical companies for the provision of
anti viral and antibiotic medication to be administered,
one assumes, by the company’s own medical personnel
or via an arrangement with a private healthcare
provider.
Keith M Lewin
Some large businesses have already made some
plans and have entered into their own arrangements
with pharmaceutical companies for the provision of
anti viral and antibiotic medication to be administered,
one assumes, by the company’s own medical
personnel or via an arrangement with a private
healthcare provider.
So , how do you begin planning?
This will doubtless be a disturbing thought for most
care providers; however, there are things that can be
done now, both by way of preparation and also by
way of introducing perhaps new or modified behaviours.
First, think about how you would cope with the sudden
loss of 50% of your workforce coupled with a
sudden demand in service user needs. Consider
entering into long term performance arrangements
with agencies that provide temporary staff. Where
you operate your own ‘bank staff’, consider increasing
the numbers of staff available through the ‘bank’
arrangements.
Develop and reinforce good habits of respiratory hygiene.
Encourage the use of disposable tissues
rather than fabric handkerchiefs. Pay particular attention
to hand hygiene – something that will help
generally in the fight against MRSA, C. diff and other
super-bugs.
Discuss more sophisticated arrangements for vaccination
etc. with the local PCT and the home’s General
Practitioner. Enquire about other local plans for
dealing with a flu pandemic or other crisis.
Consider other potential consequences - there is a
risk that flu brings an increased risk of a heart attack
according to a study published in European Heart
Journal, increased during the first seven days after
which it begins to recede and almost vanishes after a
month. Build this factor into your planning not only
for maintaining service user health but also the health
of your workforce.
Consider building in greater levels of ‘redundancy’ of
systems and suppliers. Remember, if you have the
best executed plan for preserving the health of your
service users and staff, it will be of little effect if your
major suppliers do not fulfil their part of a bargain, for
example, the delivery of food stuffs. So consider having
multiple suppliers to make it as easy as possible
to switch suppliers if one is not able to meet its obligations
– being able to sue them on a ‘watertight’
contract months later will be of little use if their failure
to meet their obligations brings about the destruction
of your business.
Consider contacting the disaster planning officer at
your local council and seek advice and help in addressing
this challenging issue yourself.
Next, review your policy of insurance. Will there be
any basis to claim on the policy where damage is
done to your business as a result of flu pandemic (or
other business critical event); what about claims
brought against you for failure to maintain minimum
standards of care? What about business interruption?