Room for more flexibility in the future of FT model – Health Service Journal
NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens has suggested that there could be more flexibility in what constitutes a foundation trust in future.

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Labour reveals 10 year plan for health and social care – Health Service Journal 
Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham has confirmed he wants health and wellbeing boards to be accountable for new ‘year of care budgets’ which would cover the ‘health and social care needs’ of those ‘at the greatest risk of hospitalisation’, but added that the funds would ‘be paid to an NHS preferred provider’.

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End of year learning guidance: interactive guide
NHS Improving Quality has developed a short interactive learning guide to help NHS organisations capture the learning and knowledge they have developed over the past year.  End of year learning guidance supports the NHS ambition to become an organisation that rigorously and consistently utilises and develops the collective knowledge and experience of its people.

Perioperative medicine: the pathway to better surgical care – Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) 
This report presents RCoA’s vision for future models of surgical care which aims to deliver more efficient healthcare and better outcomes for patients from contemplation of surgery until full recovery. It argues that multi-disciplinary perioperative care helps to provide a solution to the high demand for hospital beds in helping to enable faster recovery and prevent hospital re-admissions. The accompanying case studies highlight examples of good practice in this field.

Personalised care for long-term conditions handbooks – NHS England
These handbooks are aimed at supporting commissioners and practitioners in planning services for people with long term conditions (LTCs) in order to achieve more effective, personalised care. The guides cover three key areas: identifying people in the population with LTCs that are most vulnerable and at risk of unplanned hospital admissions; planning personalised care and support; and best-practice multi-disciplinary working across professional and organisational boundaries.

Amendments to the Human Medicines Regulations 2012
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and Department of Health have published the results of a consultation on Amendments to the Human Medicines Regulations 2012.  The government considers that there is a clear case for Public Health England (PHE) and the Public Health Agency in Northern Ireland (PHA) to be able to authorise Patient Group Directions (PGDs). They will then be able to issue/administer specified vaccines and medicines to pre-defined groups of patients without them having to see a doctor or dentist.  This will ensure that in the event of an incident or outbreak of infectious disease PHE and PHA staff can supply/administer vaccines and medicines.

Improving safety: Hospital Alcohol Liaison Service
NICE has added Improving safety – through the establishment of a Hospital Alcohol Liaison Service (HALS), alongside the launch of a therapeutic Chloridiazepoxide prescribing Detoxification Regime to its Shared Learning Database.  Tameside Hospital NHS Foundation Trust established HALS in April 2013 offering a duty response to all inpatient and outpatient departments within the hospital.  Almost immediately it proved a positive impact on the support offered to patients admitted for alcohol misuse, the team have been pivotal in launching and applying the principles of the NICE Alcohol withdrawal guidance through a Chlordiazepoxide prescribing pathway alongside the establishment of an Ambulatory Detoxification Clinic.  

Good governance and clinical audit
The Good Governance Institute, in partnership with the Health Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP), has published two new guides for healthcare professionals:
The updated Good Governance Handbook is focused on the developing role of clinicians in management and resource allocation, and should help existing and aspirant Clinical, Nursing, Medical and Non-executive Directors, as well as those who support and challenge them, to understand and apply good governance. The Clinical Audit Guide for NHS boards and partners  places clinical audit within the broader context of quality improvement, and provides guidance to those commissioning, delivering, and scrutinising clinical audit as part of the wider quality improvement strategy. The guide includes 10 simple rules for NHS boards and top tips on how these can be implemented.