NHS innovation accelerator programme
NHS England has reported that three million patients have begun to access new apps, safety devices, on-line networks, and other new technologies and services during the first nine months of the NHS Innovation Accelerator programme which was launched last year. Sixty eight NHS organisations are using one or more of seventeen new innovations which aim to improve care by, for example, reducing clinical incidents, helping people self-care and linking up patients with others or with research schemes.

How a specialist care vanguard may design ‘experimental tariffs’ – Health Service Journal
As the NHS begins to visualise the capabilities of new care models, two briefings written by HSJ’s experts look at how vanguards are implementing service redesigns. Three trusts which make up the National Orthopaedic Alliance are defining a set of standards with which to award orthopaedics services. Those awarded its kite mark can then run services as part of a franchise.

Public Health England strategic plan
Public Health England has published its Strategic Plan for the next four years: better outcomes by 2020.  The plan sets out how the organisation intends to protect and improve the public’s health and reduce inequalities over the next four years. It also outlines actions PHE will take over the next year to achieve these aims and deliver its core functions. It builds on the Department of Health’s Shared Delivery Plan, the NHS 5 Year Forward View, and ‘From Evidence into Action’.  

Supporting patient’s choices to avoid long hospital stays NHS England and partners have published the latest quick guide Supporting patient’s choices to avoid long hospital stays.  This guide aims to support local health and social care systems to reduce the time people spend in hospital, when they are ready to depart and no longer need acute care, but are delayed whilst making decisions about or making arrangements for their ongoing care.

Equality, Diversity and Human Rights Week
NHS Employers has published a toolkit to provide support for communications teams to deliver local campaigns for this year’s Equality, Diversity and Human Rights Week (16-20 May). The theme for this year’s week is ‘Making change happen’. NHS Employers is encouraging organisations to shine a light on their local initiatives to drive change to create a fairer, more inclusive NHS.

NICE guidelines update: depression in adults
NICE has updated the guidance Depression in adults: recognition and management (CG90).   Recommendation 1.10.5.1 has been deleted and replaced with a link to the NICE interventional procedure guidance on repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression.

Eyes on Evidence
The latest edition of Eyes on Evidence (April 2016) includes the following items:

• Prescribing safety in UK general practice
• Drug efficacy in older people with Multimorbidity
• Testosterone preparations for men with hypogonadism
• Clinical outcomes in people with obstructive sleep apnoea
• Older people’s views on advance care planning
• Evidence summaries from NICE’s Medicines and Prescribing Programme