HMIU September 2017
Welcome to the September HMIU. I hope everybody had a good summer break, and whilst I don’t want to wish the summer away, thoughts must be turning to winter pressures over the next few months.
Table of Contents
Managing risk in health and care this winter: Update
The bottom line: understanding the NHS deficit and why it won’t go away
NHS funding and privatisation: the facts (Kings Fund blog)...... 2
STP progress dashboard
1.Deliver personal care
2.Deliver safe care
3.Deliver joined-up care
5.Support a healthy life
7.Support all our staff
General News
Managing risk in health and care this winter: Update
This report by NHS Providers assesses NHS planning for the upcoming winter season and finds whilst the level of planning and support is more developed than last year, the system still requires emergency funding to ensure patient safety. NHS Providers warns that a failure to make an emergency investment of £200-£350 million will lead to longer patient waiting times and increased patient safety risks.
The bottom line: understanding the NHS deficit and why it won’t go away
This briefing assesses the financial health of the NHS provider sector by unpicking the headline figures presented in the official accounts to reveal the true underlying state of the NHS’s finances today, and to outline prospects for the next three to four years. The analysis finds that NHS trusts ended last year with an underlying overspend almost £3 billion more than was reported in their official accounts. It warns that even if trusts continue to make savings, underlying deficits will remain until 2020/21.
NHS funding and privatisation: the facts (Kings Fund blog)
A lecture and article by the scientist Professor Stephen Hawking outlining his views on the NHS have prompted a lively debate about a number of issues. Here the Kings Fund looks at the facts about two of these: whether the NHS is being privatised and if it has been given the funding it needs.
STPs
STP progress dashboard
This report outlines baseline data for each STP area in England relating to progress so far on STP plans against nine domains. The nine domains focus on hospital performance, patient-focused change and transformation. West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust is classified as ‘advanced’ from a choice of ‘needs most improvement’, ‘making progress’ and ‘outstanding’.
- Deliver personal care
Home care: what people told Healthwatch about their experiences
This report analyses the experiences of people who use home care services, their
families and front line staff across England. It finds that whilst many people have
positive experiences, there is space for improvement in care planning, staff skills, consistency and continuity in services and communication and feedback.
- Deliver safe care
Making effective use of dashboards.
Foster S. British Journal of Nursing 2017;26(13):783-783.
The article discusses what the author refers to as the pitfalls that users might face
when using performance dashboards to interpret how an organisation's top priority
performance results compare to a certain target, and it mentions evidence-based
decision making in nursing and the collating and interpreting of data. Employee
turnover in nursing is addressed, along with internal and external benchmarking.
Nurses in Great Britain are also assessed.
Available with an NHS OpenAthens password for eligible users
Decommissioning health care: identifying best practice through primary and secondary research a prospective mixed-methods study.
Williams I. Health Services and Delivery Research 2017;5(22):
Background: Decommissioning – defined as the planned process of removing, reducing or replacing health-care services – is an important component of current reforms in the NHS. However, the evidence base on which to guide policy and practice in this area is weak. Aim: This study aims to formulate theoretically grounded, evidence-informed guidance to support best practice in effective decommissioning of NHS services.
Freely available online
Live tweeting by ambulance services: a growing concern.
Baron A. Journal of Paramedic Practice 2017;9(7):282-286.
Introduction of new forms of technology presents paramedics with professional challenges. Using social media technology to communicate to the public may sometimes breach professional standards of practice and potentially cause harm to the patient, the individual paramedic and the profession. This article presents the rational why this practice is unprofessional, ethically and legally unsound and provides a tool to practice safe and professional social media use in the workplace.
Available with an NHS OpenAthens password for eligible users
Do nurse staffing levels affect patient mortality in acute secondary care?
Hill B. British Journal of Nursing 2017;26(12):698-704.
This systematic literature review explores and considers whether registered nurse staffing levels affect patient mortality in acute secondary care settings. A discussion makes particular reference to the philosophical foundations of contrasting research approaches used within the literature. Effective management and leadership of acute clinical areas requires appropriate nurse:patient ratios with highly skilled and competent nurses providing best-quality, evidence-based practice.
Available with an NHS OpenAthens password for eligible users
Managing patient flow and improving efficiencies: The role of technology (The Nuffield Trust)
Technology to track beds, equipment, staff and patients through a hospital has been used in the USA for years, with positive effect, and now there is growing interest in employing it in the NHS.
Centrally coordinating patient flow has the potential to create very beneficial results, but they do not come from simply implementing tracking technology. They come from using data to prioritise discharge, bed cleaning and portering efforts; embedding accountability in the system; and monitoring performance to enable continuous improvement. Establishing a control centre that has holistic oversight of the system is a fundamental enabler.
General surgery report: how to improve clinical quality and efficiency NHSI
The general surgery report from the ‘Getting it Right First Time’ (GIRFT) programme sets out key recommendations to improve the standards of clinical quality and efficiency across NHS hospital trusts.
The report found that reducing unwarranted variations between hospitals in areas such as effective procedures, length of stay, infection rates and procurement costs will improve patient outcomes and help the NHS save £160 million in efficiencies each year.
- Deliver joined-up care
Market shaping in adult social care
The last five years have seen a reduction in the number of residential and nursing
homes operating in England, resulting in 1,400 fewer homes. The long-term trend
of increasing numbers of nursing home beds and decreasing numbers of residential
home beds has come to a halt. This analysis highlights the fragility of the care home
market, although the home care market is equally under pressure. It argues that local authorities must be prepared to be bolder and do things differently in order to shape
the market.
Developing accountable care systems: lessons from Canterbury, New Zealand
The health system in Canterbury, New Zealand, has undertaken a significant programme of transformation over the past decade. As a result of the changes, the health system is supporting more people in their homes and communities and has moderated demand for hospital care, particularly among older people. This report outlines lessons for the NHS from the experience of the Canterbury health system. (4 page summary)
People's experience in adult social care services: improving the experience of care for people using adult social care services – NICE consultation
This draft guideline provides evidence-based recommendations with the aim of improving adults' experiences of social care services. It is based on evidence about the views of people who use services on what is important to them in their care and support. NICE is seeking feedback on this draft guideline and the consultation will close on 3 October 2017.
- Support a healthy life
- Support all our staff
What characterizes the work culture at a hospital unit that successfully implements change – a correlation study
This study shows that healthcare personnel at a unit with a successful implementation
of change have a working environment with many positive qualities. This indicates that
a work environment with a high focus on goal achievement and task orientation can
handle the challenges of implementing changes.
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© West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust August 2017. This bulletin may be used, shared and modified but please acknowledge that the original was created by West Suffolk Hospital Library and Information Centre.
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