User-Led Organisation Action and Learning
The Winter edition of the User-Led Action and Learning newsletter has just been published. It focuses on news on the User-Led Organisation project as well as giving broader insight into other agendas such as personalisation and the work of the Office of the Third Sector.
NHS Evidence Advisory Committee lay members sought
The NHS Evidence Advisory Committee is an independent standing committee of the Board of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). The committee provides independent accreditation recommendations to help identify, set and clarify standards and provide a quality assured evidence base for everyone in involved in health and social care. Committee members are drawn from potential users of the service such as clinicians, social care professionals, commissioners and experts in relevant areas of work such as research and methodology as well as lay members. NICE has two vacancies for lay members to join the committee. Lay members of the committee play a key role in making sure that patient, carer and public views, experiences and interests inform the committee’s decisions. Further details of the role and how to apply can be found on the NICE web site.
Public Information on LINks
The Department of Health has published a new public information leaflet on Local Involvement Networks (LINks). Help Shape your Health and Social Care explains how members of the public can influence the way services are run.
A brief guide to Local Involvement Networks
The Department of Health has published a guide for health and social care managers which explains about LINks and how working with them should be a key part of commissioning, running and reviewing health and social care services.
Patient and carer involvement in chronic disease
NHS Evidence - supportive and palliative care has published its second Annual Evidence Update on the topic of patient and carer involvement in chronic disease. It includes literature from 2009 and a few earlier publications of note. The papers cover systematic reviews of literature on user experience of health care, systematic reviews of user involvement in educating healthcare professionals in giving better care in chronic and terminal conditions and guidance and policy documents on user involvement in chronic illnesses and end of life care.
Involving carers in research
The Mental Health Research Network (MHRN) is inviting applications to write good practice guidelines for involving carers in research. A brief and details of how to apply are available on the MHRN web site and the closing date for applications is Monday 15 February 2010.
Quality Accounts
A letter has been issued to chief executives by the NHS Medical Director setting out the role of LINks in Quality Accounts.
Campaign for Local Involvement Networks
The LINks PR team at the Department of Health is working on a national PR campaign for Local Involvement Networks. To help raise awareness of the good work that LINks are doing across England they are currently seeking case studies covering a number of areas.They are looking for examples of
health and social care professionals including dentists, GPs, pharmacists, nurses, and carers who are getting involved in their LINk.
patients and the public who are doing outstanding working as part of a LINk to help improve local services
LINks working with health and social care services on the issues of dementia, mental health, visual impairment, deaf and hard of hearing, and sexual health
If anyone knows of any such examples, please contact the LINks PR team by email to links@forster.co.uk or by phone on 020 7403 2230.
Care Quality Commission - guide to information submission
The CQC has published a guide to assist organisations such as LINks, overview and scrutiny committees, learning disability partnership boards and voluntary organisations to help them submit information to the Commission (an easy read version is also available). An on line form can be accessed from which local groups can communicate their views.
Consultation on age discrimination and equality in health and social care
A Department of Health consultation is inviting views on recommendations and conclusions from a review of age discrimination and age equality in the health and social care sector. The review was set up to help health and social care meet the ban on age discrimination and the new public sector equality duty in the Equality Bill. The consultation document mentions a potential role for Health Overview and Scrutiny Committees (OSCs) and Local Involvement Networks (LINks) as part of local work to identify and address age discrimination which may exist in local services and in ensuring transparency (see page 22 of the document). The consultation lasts until 15 February 2010.
New edition of the NALM Directory
A new edition of the National Association for LINks Members (NALM) Directory has been issued. It gives names and contact details for LINks, contact details for strategic health authorities and a listing of LINks hosts.
Guidance on the NHS duty to report on consultation
New legislation comes into force in April 2010 regarding the NHS duty to report on consultations. This guidance explains the legal obligations and provides practical help and advice in terms of preparing and publishing reports.
NHS Constitution: a consultation on new patient rights
This consultation proposes new patient rights to treatment which would be incorporated into the NHS Constitution. They cover maximum waiting times for a GP referral and health checks for those aged 40-74. It also welcomes views on other areas such as dentistry, evening and weekend access to GPs, personal health budgets, the ability to choose to die at home and rapid access to diagnostic tests. The consultation will run from 10 November 2009 to 5 February 2010.
Report on public involvement in research
'Exploring impact: public involvement in NHS, public health and social care research' was published by INVOLVE on 6 November 2009. This report examines the impact of public involvement through an in-depth review of published literature. It also draws together examples of how public involvement is conducted, and what difference it is making.
Self Care Week
The NHS is running the first ever Self Care Week (9-15 November 2009). It intends to raise awareness of the improvements everyone can make to their health by taking a more active role in their own health and well-being. One of the aims is to raise awareness of Personalised Care Plans and to encourage everyone with a long term condition to discuss making a plan with their GP or nurse. A communications pack is available to help publicise the week.
Patients don't use quality measures when choosing a hospital - survey results
Three years after patients were first entitled to choose where to go for an outpatient appointment, the results of a survey by The King’s Fund reveal that half (49 per cent) recall being offered a choice of hospital or treatment centre. And rather than consulting official information sources such as NHS Choices, most patients rely on their own past experience (56 per cent), the experience of family or friends (52 per cent) or the advice of their GP (13 per cent) to judge a hospitals’ performance. These results are part of a new publication 'Choice at the point of referral: early results of a patient survey'.
Patient designed services and NHS savings
According to the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA), allowing doctors and patients to design healthcare services could save the NHS £20bn by 2014. In the discussion paper 'The Human Factor - how transforming healthcare to involve the public can save money and save lives', it says the health services should move away from centrally driven directives and place responsibility for reform in the hands of the public.
Direct payments for health care: a consultation
The Department of Health is seeking views on the Government's proposals for piloting direct payments for health care. Personal health budgets are intended to help create a more personalised NHS, by giving people more control over their care. The consultation document describes how the Government intends to use the power in the Health Bill to make regulations to enable pilot sites to test direct payments. The consultation ends on 8 January 2010.
On line debate on PPI
On October 20th, the NHS Alliance launched a six week online debate about accountability in the NHS. The organisation is hoping to engage political leaders, health professionals, trade unions, local government, the third sector, patients and everyone who has a stake in the NHS. A position paper, Whose NHS is it Anyway?, has been produced, and participants in the debate will be asked to respond to six questions on NHS accountability as well as contribute suggestions of how patients and the public can be involved in a meaningful way. (Press release)
Patient and Public Engagement Support Programme
The Department of Health (DH) has published two documents on patient and public engagement. Helping the NHS put Patients at the Heart of Care describes the DH support programme to help services engage patients and the public, and Putting Patients at the Heart of Care sets out the Department of Health's vision for patient and public engagement.
Choice of general practitioner
In a speech on September 17th, the Health Secretary Andy Burnham announced that GP catchment areas would be abolished within the year in order to increase patient choice and drive up standards. An audio version of the speech is also available online.
Tools and resources to support PPI
The NHS Centre for Involvement has produced a set of indicators which correspond with the six PPI organisational standards. They have also developed a set of tools and resources to help implement these standards and indicators in organisations.
Further Patient and Public Involvement Guides
Three more Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Guides have been issued by the NHS Centre for Involvement. These guides are for planned care, long term conditions and involving children and young people.
NHS Centre for Involvement Newsletter
The 18th edition of the NHS Centre for Involvement newsletter is now available. It looks at the NCI 2009 conference, recent publications on involvement and forthcoming events.
More Patient and Public Involvement Guides
The NHS Centre for Involvement has issued three more Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Guides. These focus on how PPI can be developed and embedded into the eight clinical pathways identified in 'High Quality Care for All' 2008. These guides are for maternity and newborn care, staying healthy and long term conditions. A guide to involving patients and members of the public in commissioning has also been produced.
National Patient Choice Survey
The Department of Health has published the final National Patient Choice Survey report, the seventeenth in a series of surveys commissioned to assess the implementation of choice at primary care trust (PCT) level.
Patient and Public Involvement Guides
The NHS Centre for Involvement (NCI) was commissioned to produce a series of Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Guides. The first three of these are now available, for the pathways of urgent and emergency care, mental healthcare and end of life care.
Practical Educational Tools
The NHS Centre for Involvement is producing a set of Practical Educational Tools (PETs) for Patient and Public Involvement. Links to those available and lists of forthcoming units are available online.
Patient and public engagement - the early impact of World Class Commissioning
A report published by the Picker Institute on June 8 looks at the results of a survey carried out in February 2009 which aimed to assess the impact of the World Class Commissioning framework on patient and public engagement (PPE) in commissioning. The findings show that primary care trusts (PCTs) have reported significant changes to their organisation of PPE in commissioning amounting to the beginnings of a cultural shift. (Press release)
Local Involvement Networks (LINks) - new hot topic
An updated version of the hot topic on LINks has just been published. Hot topics on Individual Budgets and Involving Patients in Commissioning are also available. Further subjects are in preparation.
LINks guides 18 and 19 now available
The NHS Centre for Involvement has published the latest in its series of LINks guides. Guide 18 'Health and Social Care Structures' aims to increase the understanding of people involved with LINks about how health and social care services are planned and delivered, and Guide 19 'Working with LINks' shows how health and social care managers should work with LINks and respond to their reports and recommendations.
10 Questions to ask if you’re scrutinising arrangements to support effective Local Involvement Networks
The Centre for Public Scrutiny has produced a new guide in its series aimed at helping Overview and Scrutiny Committees (OSCs) carry out their work around health and social care topics. Published on April 15th, 10 Questions to ask if you’re scrutinising arrangements to support effective Local Involvement Networks is designed to help OSCs develop a range of high level questions around support arrangements for Local Involvement Networks.
Healthcare Commission report on local engagement in service planning and improvement
Published on March 26th, the Healthcare Commission study into public and patient involvement in healthcare brings together the views of hundreds of patients and members of the public and 139 healthcare providers. Listening, learning, working together? gives practical guidance to healthcare services outlining what they need to do to make sure patients are involved effectively, including a performance checklist. It encourages organisations and local user and community groups to use this study to focus efforts on improving the way organisations engage with their local communities.
Response to the consultation on the extension and revision of Direct Payments Regulations
This document, published on March 19th, summarises the responses to the consultation on regulations implementing the extension of direct payments to adults who lack the capacity to consent to their receipt and outlines what subsequent action the Department of Health proposes to take.
Local Healthcare Commissioning - grassroots involvement?
The Royal College of Nursing and National Voices have produced a report which claims that government attempts to involve patients and the public in local health services are failing. The report reveals that many patients feel local healthcare commissioning (LHC), the process intended to ensure health and care services effectively meet the needs of the local population by engaging with patient representatives, is not working effectively. An appendix profiles the respondents to the survey and gives extracts from their responses.
