Title: The week: 25 February to 3 March 2011
Author: User
Last saved by: PCohen
Company: Department of Health

The week: for NHS and social care leaders

The week: 19 – 25 October 2012 
for NHS and social care leaders

Issue: 270

On the agenda

Medical revalidation of doctors to start in December
Medical revalidation, the process by which all doctors who are licensed with the General Medical Council (GMC) regularly demonstrate they are up-to-date and fit to practise, will start in December 2012. 

The new system will help doctors maintain the standard expected of them by making sure they keep pace with the latest techniques, technologies and research. Revalidation will also require a doctor to tackle any concerns about skills such as communication and maintaining trust with patients. 

A joint letter from Sir David Nicholson and Sir Bruce Keogh provides more detail.

To read the letter go to: http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/10/medical-revalidation-uk/ 

People with dementia to receive more support
The Department of Health is providing dedicated funding to create care environments for people with dementia that help reduce anxiety and distress, and make them feel safer.

Up to £50 million will be available to NHS trusts and local authorities, working in partnership with care providers, to help tailor hospitals and care homes to the needs of people with dementia. The care providers involved will need to sign up to the Dementia Care and Support Compact, which commits them to providing first-rate care and support for people with dementia and their families.

For further information go to : http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/10/dementiaenvironments/

Policy news
1. National Self Care week 12-18 November 2012               	

Consultations and evaluations
2. Pricing of NHS services 								        
3. Latest wave of NHS staff survey launched		
4. Finance transition planning arrangements			

Publications
5. Handover and closedown: planning for a secure transition  

Conferences and events

i. what’s new
6. Expert on call: Care Homes Programme – focusing on experience 

ii. places still available
No news this week

Patient safety alerts
Refer to website below

Extra notes
Chief executives are reminded that all communications requiring the attention of NHS and local authority management must include a Gateway reference number. In order to streamline the number of communications issued by the Department, these will continue to be summarised in ‘the week’ every Thursday.

Policy news

1. National Self Care week 12-18 November 2012 
(Gateway reference number: 18251)
This campaign to be launched by Health Minister Norman Lamb, raises awareness of the support available to help people, especially those with long-term conditions, to grow older healthily. This year's theme, which builds on the European Healthy Ageing Initiative, focuses on supporting people to take control of their own health and wellbeing, and play a more active role in decisions about their care.

Link: http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/10/self-care-week-2012/
Action: NHS chief executives are asked to lead by example and make sure their organisations are engaging in Self Care Week.

Consultations and evaluations

2. Pricing of NHS services 
(Gateway reference number: 18128)
From April 2014, Monitor and the NHS Commissioning Board will take over responsibility for pricing NHS services from the Department of Health. They will do this through the national tariff. The consultation seeks views on which providers can formally object to Monitor’s way of calculating prices, and what level of objection from commissioners and/or providers would require Monitor to reconsider how it calculates prices. 

Link: http://healthandcare.dh.gov.uk/pricing-consultation/
Action: NHS chief executives can respond up to 21 December 2012.

3. Latest wave of NHS staff survey launched
(Gateway reference number: 18280)
The Department of Health has commissioned GFK NOP, an independent research agency, to conduct a survey among NHS staff of their awareness of a range of important issues, including major NHS policy initiatives and attitudes towards them.  Fieldwork will begin on 2 November 2012 and will run through December and possibly into early January 2013. The survey will be conducted across all SHA clusters, to make sure staff views are represented across the country. The link below takes you to the results of last year's NHS staff attitudes survey.

Link: http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/06/public-perception/
Action: NHS chief executives will wish to make sure their organisation fully participates in this survey.

4. Finance transition planning arrangements
(Gateway reference number: 18269)
The Department of Health, in collaboration with PCT and SHA finance colleagues, has developed a draft document covering the main year-end finance transition areas that SHAs and PCTs will need to plan for in 2012/13. The final document will be issued by the end of November 2012.

Link: http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/10/finance-transition/
Action: NHS chief executives will wish to discuss with their audit committees and encourage SHA and PCT directors of finance to provide feedback to NHSfinance.transition@dh.gsi.gov.uk by 16 November 2012. 

Publications

5. Handover and closedown: planning for a secure transition 
(Gateway reference number: 18231 and 18228)
The Department of Health Integrated Programme Office is working with transition leads in SHAs to support and assure handover and closedown activity. Guidance is being produced by experts in the field, and policy and business leads, to make sure best practice is followed and there is a consistent approach across all organisations. The first set of guidance is now available, covering 'transfer documentation' and 'intellectual property rights'.  

Link: http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/10/handover-guidance-transition/
Action: NHS chief executives will wish to review these documents and consider the implications.

Conferences and events

i. what’s new

6. Expert on call: Care Homes Programme – focusing on experience
(Gateway reference number: 18281)
On 15 November 2012 from 4.00pm to 5.00pm, Liz Ward and Sophie Cowley will give a presentation on the NHS Institute’s Care Homes Programme. The aims of the programme are to develop a set of tools enabling care home staff to make the improvements that residents and relatives want, while improving efficiency to release more time to care for residents.

Link: https://nhs.webex.com/mw0306ld/mywebex/default.do?siteurl=nhs
Action: NHS chief executives and colleagues can register for the free web seminar at the link above.

ii. places still available
No news this week

Patient safety alerts

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has sent the NHS the latest medical device alerts in the link below. NHS Trusts are expected to take the specified action by the date given.

Link: www.mhra.gov.uk/Publications/Safetywarnings/MedicalDeviceAlerts/index.htm

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General comments
If you would like to comment on 'the week', please email theweek@dh.gsi.gov.uk or write to NHS Staff Comms Team, Department of Health, Room 444, Richmond House, 79 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2NS.

Unless otherwise stated, guidance referred to in the bulletin has not been commissioned or endorsed by the Department of Health – it is evidence that organisations and professionals may find helpful in improving practice. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is the Department's provider of accredited evidence and guidance, which can be found on the Institute's website at www.nice.org.uk