Transforming NHS ambulance services

Transforming NHS ambulance services PDF Author: Great Britain: National Audit Office
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780102969719
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Book Description
The Department of Health has until recently been focusing on speed of response as a measure of performance of the ambulance service, rather than on clinical outcomes for patients. The ambulance service achieves high levels of public satisfaction but there are wide variations in ambulance trusts' efficiency and the NAO concludes that the system has not delivered the best value for money to date. The 8-minute response target, intended for the most seriously ill patients, is one of the most demanding in the world. However, its application has skewed ambulance trusts' approach to performance measurement and management. The target is also applied to a much wider group of patients than intended. The report identifies various inefficiencies in the system, with cost per incident varying between £176 and £251. There is scope across the urgent and emergency care system to make more of different ways of responding to patients, such as clinical advice to callers over the phone and taking patients to minor injuries units rather than A&E departments. If all 11 trusts adopted the best practice currently being used in at least one trust, the NHS could save £165 million a year. The elements of the emergency care system are not yet fully integrated and this leads to delays in turnaround times at hospital A&Es. Over one-fifth of patient handovers take longer than the recommended 15 minutes. The new clinical quality indicators introduced from April offer the potential for a fuller measurement of performance based on outcomes.

Transforming NHS ambulance services

Transforming NHS ambulance services PDF Author: Great Britain: National Audit Office
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780102969719
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 48

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Department of Health has until recently been focusing on speed of response as a measure of performance of the ambulance service, rather than on clinical outcomes for patients. The ambulance service achieves high levels of public satisfaction but there are wide variations in ambulance trusts' efficiency and the NAO concludes that the system has not delivered the best value for money to date. The 8-minute response target, intended for the most seriously ill patients, is one of the most demanding in the world. However, its application has skewed ambulance trusts' approach to performance measurement and management. The target is also applied to a much wider group of patients than intended. The report identifies various inefficiencies in the system, with cost per incident varying between £176 and £251. There is scope across the urgent and emergency care system to make more of different ways of responding to patients, such as clinical advice to callers over the phone and taking patients to minor injuries units rather than A&E departments. If all 11 trusts adopted the best practice currently being used in at least one trust, the NHS could save £165 million a year. The elements of the emergency care system are not yet fully integrated and this leads to delays in turnaround times at hospital A&Es. Over one-fifth of patient handovers take longer than the recommended 15 minutes. The new clinical quality indicators introduced from April offer the potential for a fuller measurement of performance based on outcomes.

Tackling Obesity in England

Tackling Obesity in England PDF Author: Great Britain. National Audit Office
Publisher: Stationery Office Books (TSO)
ISBN:
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 80

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Book Description
In Britain, between 1980 and 1998, the number of people classified as obese tripled to 21per cent of women and 17 per cent of men. It is estimated that this costs the economy, as a whole, �2 billion and the NHS �0.5 billion in treatment. However the response of the NHS is patchy, with no national guidelines and only 28% of health authorities taking action to address the problem. There is little activity related to the management of obesity outside of general practice but only a small proportion of GPs follow a protocol. This report recommends that there should be strategies to reduce obesity and that the Department of Health should build on the plan in the National Service Framework on coronary heart disease and work with partners and professional bodies to clarify responsibilities. It should also work with the National Institute of Clinical excellence to disseminate information. The Department of Health should also lead a cross government strategy to promote the benefits of physical activity and there should be local targets to encourage cycling and walking. It should also work with the food industry to improve the balance of diet. Much of this work needs to be aimed at school children to promote a healthy lifestyle throughout life and guidance to schools on commercial sponsorship should be strengthened so that there is no conflict with messages on healthy eating.

National Audit Office - Department of Health: Maternity Services in England - HC 794

National Audit Office - Department of Health: Maternity Services in England - HC 794 PDF Author: Great Britain: National Audit Office
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780102987010
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 50

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Book Description
Since the Department's 2007 Maternity Matters strategy, there has been improvement in maternity services. However, there is wide variation between trusts in performance. The Department did not fully consider the implications of delivering its ambitions and has failed to demonstrate that it satisfactorily considered the achievability and affordability of implementing the strategy. Nor has it monitored national progress against it. In 2011, one in 133 babies was stillborn or died within several days of birth. The mortality rate has fallen over time, but comparisons with the other UK nations suggest scope for further improvement. Trusts paid £482 million for maternity clinical negligence cover in 2012-13, equating to around a fifth of spending on maternity services. The level of consultant presence has substantially improved but over half of maternity units (including all of the largest units) do not meet recommended levels. The NHS is also not meeting a widely recognised benchmark of one midwife to 29.5 births. The government has commissioned more places to study midwifery, but it is unclear whether these will be enough. Meeting the benchmark would require around 2,300 additional midwives nationally. In terms of choice of place of birth, 79 per cent of women are currently within a 30-minute drive of both an obstetric and midwifery-led unit, compared with 59 per cent in 2007. However, choice is restricted where units have to close because of a lack of physical capacity or midwives. Over a quarter of units closed for half a day or more between April and September 2012

Who Decides Who Decides?

Who Decides Who Decides? PDF Author: John Spiers
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1138031488
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 271

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Book Description
This book makes the case for 'ordinary' people to get the health and social care which the state has promised them for over 60 years but which has not been delivered. What is the case for choice? How can choice be made real for the individual? What impact can genuine, individually financially-empowered choice have on effective funding, purchasing, delivery, and outcomes? How can a genuine market grow and thrive? How can the quest for choice include the large numbers of NHS and social care staff on whom success depends? The book urges individual financial empowerment, through a life-long health savings account for all NHS and social services.

The Evolution and Everyday Practice of Collective Patient Involvement in Europe

The Evolution and Everyday Practice of Collective Patient Involvement in Europe PDF Author: Alexander Haarmann
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319645951
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 366

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Book Description
This timely study analyzes social, economic, political, provider, and patient factors shaping collective patient involvement in European health care from the postwar period to the present day. Examining representative countries England, the Netherlands, Germany, and Sweden, it documents the roles of providers and legislatures in facilitating consumer involvement, and the varied forms of patient input into hospital operations. These findings are compared and contrasted against the intent and ideals behind patient involvement to assess the effectiveness of implementation policy, strengths and drawbacks of patient participation, and patient satisfaction and outcomes. The book’s conclusions identify emerging forms of patient participation and predict the impact of health policy on the future of European collective patient involvement. Included in the coverage: · Patient involvement: who, what for, and in what way? · The Netherlands: the legislative process to collective patient involvement · England: formal means of public involvement—a continuous story of discontinuity · Germany: Joint Federal Committee—the “Little Legislator” · Sweden: reasons for a late emergence of patient involvement · Lessons to be learned from implementing patient involvement The Evolution and Everyday Practice of Collective Patient Involvement in Europe will interest and inspire scholars and researchers in diverse fields, including social policy, sociology, political sciences, and nursing studies, as well as patient organizations, policymakers, and healthcare providers.

A Safer Place for Patients

A Safer Place for Patients PDF Author: Great Britain: National Audit Office
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 0102933448
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 100

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Book Description
The Department of Health estimates that one in ten patients admitted to NHS hospitals will be unintentionally harmed (a rate similar to other developed countries), due to incidents such as an injury from a fall, medication errors, equipment related incidents, record documentation errors and hospital acquired infections. About half of such incidents could have been avoided, if lessons from previous incidents had been learned. This NAO report examines the progress being made in the NHS to improve the patient safety culture, to encourage incident reporting and to learn lessons for the future. The report finds that most trusts have developed a predominantly open and fair reporting culture at the local level, driven largely by the Department of Health's clinical governance initiative and more effective risk management systems. However, a 'blame culture' still exists in some trusts, and there have been delays in establishing an effective national reporting system. There is scope for improving strategies for sharing good practice and for monitoring that lessons are learned.

Conciliation in Healthcare

Conciliation in Healthcare PDF Author: Anne Ward Platt
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1315347326
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 130

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Book Description
Conciliation is the term used in the National Health Service to describe a particular form of dispute resolution that is used in relation to the complaints process. Conciliation has uses beyond the resolution of complaints. It can be of value in any situation where the clinical relationship has broken down. Equally, it may be used in an attempt to restore relationships as part of conflict management, either within the NHS or in other organisations where conflict or disagreement exists. This concise, practical guide clearly sets out the role of conciliation, and dispels the many misconceptions surrounding procedures and expectations. Conciliation in Healthcare provides invaluable resources for all healthcare staff involved in complaints, either from an operational, strategic or academic perspective. This includes conciliators themselves and those involved in their training, and staff with specific responsibilities for implementing complaints procedures, both in the public and private sectors. It's also highly recommended for those who provide advocacy and support for complainants, as well as those against whom complaints have been made.

Dealing with the Complexity of the Benefits System

Dealing with the Complexity of the Benefits System PDF Author: Great Britain: National Audit Office
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 0102936153
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 84

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Book Description
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and its agencies, are responsible for administering around 40 social security benefits to the value of around £100 billion a year. Many of these benefits are linked together; hence some customers are in receipt of more than one benefit. The need for equity and fairness in interpreting legislation, is a cause of complexity. Incentives (e.g. to work) and rewards (e.g. for an individual's savings) have been built into procedures. Problems are caused by the interface between DWP benefits and tax credits (which are administered by HM Revenue and Customs); and by the constant flow of major and minor legislative and administrative changes. Simplified procedures would enable both staff and customers to understand the system better, and to avoid duplication of effort. There would also be less scope for benefits fraud (estimated at £2.6 billion in 2004-05). This NAO report also highlights the need for improved communication with customers and better use of new technology.

Understanding the Private–Public Divide

Understanding the Private–Public Divide PDF Author: Avner Offer
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108853528
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 243

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Book Description
Markets are taken as the norm in economics and in much of political and media discourse. But if markets are superior why does the public sector remain so large? Avner Offer provides a distinctive new account of the effective temporal limits on private, public, and social activity. Understanding the Private–Public Divide accounts for the division of labour between business and the public sector, how it changes over time, where the boundaries ought to run, and the harm that follows if they are violated. He explains how finance forces markets to focus on short-term objectives and why business requires special privileges in return for long-term commitment. He shows how a private sector policy bias leads to inequality, insecurity, and corruption. Integrity used to be the norm and it can be achieved again. Only governments can manage uncertainty in the long-term interests of society, as shown by the challenge of climate change.

Managing Risks to Improve Public Services

Managing Risks to Improve Public Services PDF Author: Great Britain: National Audit Office
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780102930368
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 88

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Book Description
In recent years a great deal of effort has been put into improving risk management in departments and in 2002 this was given further impetus when a two year risk programme was launched by the Prime Minister. This report looks at the progress made since the previous NAO report in 2000 (HC 864 1999-2000, ISBN 0105569488). It is based on a survey of the 20 main Whitehall departments, focus groups of 27 departmental risk managers, comparisons with the private sector, academic research and five case studies. The general conclusion is that significant improvement has been made but more needs to be done to make effective risk management a central part of general management processes. The ability to take risks and innovate, keep projects on track and handle complex service delivery needs to be further developed.