New publication by Mr Soni, North West Regional Spinal Injuries Centre, Southport Hospital
Long-term survival after traumatic spinal cord injury: a 70-year British study. Savic G, DeVivo MJ, Frankel HL, Jamous MA, Soni BM, Charlifue S.
Analyse long-term survival after traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) in Great Britain over the 70-year study period, identify mortality risk factors and estimate current life expectancy. [Open Athens log in required]

HSJ – round up

• Naylor review: Minister reveals plan for new NHS property body
  The government is planning to establish a new national body to provide “strategic estate planning” for the health service.
• Region moves towards contracts to cover whole STP
  Clinical commissioning groups in the Black Country have set out a timeline to procure a single acute and single mental health contract across their sustainability and transformation plan area, HSJ has learned.
• RCN to separate union and professional roles
  The Royal College of Nursing will reform its structure to divide responsibility for professional nursing and trade union issues.
• NICE goes ahead with controversial drug affordability test
  Today the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has confirmed it will go ahead next month with controversial plans to assess new treatments based on affordability.
• Pay crackdown: Trust chiefs to sign off all agency shifts above £120
  Hospital chief executives are now expected to personally sign off agency shifts costing more than £120 an hour, NHS Improvement has confirmed.
• Only three trusts hit ‘reset’ A&E targets
  Just three hospital trusts have hit their lowered targets for accident and emergency performance, the latest data reveals.

£100m new capital funding for GP triage systems in A&E departments
This is based upon an A&E model in Luton and Dunstable, which is outlined in this NHS Improvement video from 2016

Exoskeleton – STPs and the Single Oversight Framework – Mills & Reeve
It is suggested that there is a mechanism for making Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) part of the governance structure of NHS trusts and foundation trusts through the Single Oversight Framework (SOF) which replaced the Risk Assessment Framework on 1 October 2016. It is argued that this may remove the requirement of new legislation to give the STPs a statutory framework.

Spring Budget – social care green paper, A&E capital investment and STPs
Amongst the announcements by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Spring budget were an additional £2bn for social care over the next three years; £100m of capital investment for A&E improvements; and £325m over the next three years to implement STPs.
Extracts:
5.6 In the longer term, the government is committed to establishing a fair and more sustainable basis for adult social care, in the face of the future demographic challenges set out in the OBR’s Fiscal Sustainability Report. The government will set out proposals in a green paper to put the system on a more secure and sustainable long term footing.
5.7 Accident & Emergency (A&E) capital investment – Recognising the particular pressures in A&E, the government will provide an additional £100 million to the NHS in England in 2017-18 for capital investment in A&E departments. This will enable Trusts to invest in measures to help manage demand on A&E services and ensure that patients are able to access the most appropriate care as quickly as possible. For example, the funding will allow for better assessment of patients when they arrive at A&E and increase the provision of on-site GP facilities.
5.8 Sustainability and Transformation Plans – The government recognises the progress that local NHS leaders have made, working collaboratively with partners, to develop local Sustainability and Transformation Plans. These local plans are an important part of the NHS’s commitment to deliver more effective services to patients. The government will invest £325 million over the next three years to support the local proposals for capital investment where there is the strongest case to deliver real improvements for patients and to ensure a sustainable financial position for the health service. In the autumn, a further round of local proposals will be considered, subject to the same rigorous value for money tests. Investment decisions will also consider whether the local NHS area is playing its part in raising proceeds from unused land, to reinvest in the health service

NHS-funded nursing care rate for 2017 to 2018 – Department of Health 
The reduction follows a review of agency costs by Mazars LLP in 2017. Registered nursing care for eligible nursing home residents is funded by the NHS, with the standard weekly rate per patient currently set at £156.25. This was a 40% increase on the 2015 to 2016 rate following an earlier review of the overall rate by Mazars in 2016.

In announcing the 40% increase last year, the government committed to further review the contribution of agency staff costs to the rate. In line with Mazars’ latest evidence on agency costs, the government will now reduce the agency cost component of the rate by £3.29 to allow for lower agency costs. This reduction is partially offset by an uplift in the remainder of the rate by 1.7% to reflect overall nursing wage pressures.

These rates are based on the best evidence currently available to the Department of Health on the costs of providing nursing care in the sector.

The Department of Health plans to consult on the introduction of a regional rate of NHS-funded nursing care ahead of future rate change announcements.

Back-office efficiencies could save over £400m a year, claims NHSI – National Health Executive
Improving the efficiency of NHS corporate services costs could save the health service over £400m in the next three years if all trusts performed as well as the average, NHS Improvement (NHSI) hhas claimed. By looking into corporate support activities, which are responsible for services like finance, information management and technology (IMT), and legal and HR within the NHS, the organisation was able to see that crucial savings could be delivered if these services were run more smoothly.

Statistics

• Provisional Accident and Emergency Quality Indicators for England – December 2016

• Provisional Monthly Hospital Episode Statistics for Admitted Patient Care, Outpatient and Accident and Emergency data – April 2016 to January 2017