NHS property and estates
The Department of Health and Social Care has published The Government response to the Naylor Review.  This document sets out the government’s response to the review of NHS property and estates published in March 2017.  The actions outlined are intended to drive transformation of the NHS estate and help deliver the Five Year Forward View.

Learning from vanguards
The NHS Confederation has published the following briefings sharing learning from vanguards:

• Learning from vanguards: staff at the heart of new care models – looks at how the vanguards have broken down traditional organisational barriers across whole systems, how they have engaged staff in the programmes, communicated change and supported staff to work differently
• Learning from vanguards: spreading and scaling up change – explores the ten key factors that the vanguards have identified are crucial to encourage the spread of initiatives
• Learning from vanguards: supporting people and communities to stay well – explores how the vanguards have sought to design health and care services around the needs of people who use them, focusing on the outcomes that matter to people and tailoring care to their needs and goals.

Maternity services survey
The Care Quality Commission has published the results from the Maternity services survey 2017.  The results show that women are reporting a more positive experience of maternity care and treatment and highlights improvements in areas such as choice of where to give birth, quality of information and access to help and support after giving birth, when compared to the results from previous years’ surveys

Antimicrobial resistance
The World Health Organization has published Global antimicrobial resistance surveillance system (GLASS) report: early implementation 2016-17.  This report provides information from GLASS enrolled countries on the status of their antimicrobial resistance surveillance systems and reports national data for selected bacteria that cause infections in humans.

Patient access to medicines and medical technologies
The NHS Confederation has published Brexit and the impact on patient access to medicines and medical technologies.  This briefing looks at how UK and EU citizens could be affected by the disruption in trade that could result from the UK’s exit from the EU, as well as in the event of lack of cooperation in the regulation of medicines and devices between the EU and the UK post Brexit.

Ambulance workforce
NHS Employers has launched a new section on its website for the  Ambulance workforce.  It aims to develop organisational cultures that promote higher levels of morale, motivation, staff satisfaction, wellbeing and engagement, to improve the working lives of all staff in the ambulance service. It is based on evidence provided from across the ambulance sector on where good work is already happening and where support is needed.

Public health teams: standards for employers
The Local Government Association has published The standards for employers of public health teams in England.  The purpose of the Employer Standards is to enable and sustain high quality public health outcomes for the local population and communities.  The standards are a set of principles and are accompanied by resources that give more detail, including guidance and links to frameworks with particular relevance to specific groups.

Agency staffing
The Office of Health Economics has published NHS staffing and the impact of recent interventions.  This briefing summarises a seminar exploring some of the reasons for the increase in the use of agency staff and the subsequent demand-side price caps and the context in which they were introduced.

NICE guidance: sore throat
NICE has published a NICE guideline  Sore throat (acute): antimicrobial prescribing (NG84).  This guideline sets out an antimicrobial prescribing strategy for acute sore throat. It aims to limit antibiotic use and reduce antimicrobial resistance. Acute sore throat is often caused by a virus, lasts for about a week, and most people get better without antibiotics. Withholding antibiotics rarely leads to complications.

CQC and NHSI statutory board meetings
NHS Providers has published Summary of statutory board meetings: CQC and NHSI – January 2018.  This summary of the Care Quality Commission and NHS Improvement statutory board meetings includes the CQC’s decision to reschedule some routine inspections this month, as well as updates from NHSI on winter pressures and the closer alignment of its work with NHS England.

Quality accounts 2017/18
NHS Improvement has issued a letter Quality accounts: reporting arrangements 2017/18.  This letter, for providers of NHS healthcare, sets out the requirements for quality accounts for 2017/18.

Accountable care organisations contracts
NHS England has announced it will launch a consultation on the contracting arrangements for Accountable Care Organisations.  The consultation will set out how the contract fits within the NHS as a whole, address how the existing statutory duties of NHS commissioners and providers would be performed under it, and will set out how public accountability and patient choice would be preserved.

Nursing workforce
The Health Committee has published The nursing workforce.  This report examines the current and future scale of the shortfall of nursing staff and whether the Government and responsible bodies have effective plans to recruit, train and retain nurses.  The committee concludes that there has been too little attention given to retaining nurses which has resulted in more nurses now leaving than joining the professional register.  There are many causes for this shortfall, including workload pressures, poor access to continuing professional development, pay and a general sense of not feeling valued.

Security of network and information systems
The National Cyber Security Centre has published The NIS guidance collection.  This collection is intended to support the implementation of the EU Directive on the security of network and information systems (NIS) which becomes UK law in May 2018.  The Department of Digital, Culture, Media & Sport has also published the government response to the recent consultation on the Security of Network and Information Systems Directive.

Regulation of independent healthcare services
The Care Quality Commission has launched a consultation on proposals for the regulation of independent healthcare services.  The CQC is seeking views on how to introduce quality ratings following inspections for independent healthcare providers and to develop how it monitors, inspects and rates services provided by these organisations.  The consultation closes 23 March 2018.

Social care briefings
The House of Commons Library has published the following briefings relating to social care:

• Social care: the forthcoming Green Paper on older people (England) – provides background information on the forthcoming Green Paper on social care for older people
• Social care: the Conservative Party’s 2017 General Election pledges on how individuals pay for care (England) – considers the Conservative Party’s 2017 General Election pledges to reform how individuals pay for social car. 

NHS provider communications
NHS Providers has published State of NHS provider communications 2017/18.  This report provides benchmarking data on the state of communications practice within NHS trusts with thought leadership on the future of NHS communications.

Statistics

• Breastfeeding at 6 to 8 weeks after birth – 2017 to 2018 – quarterly data, experimental statistics
• Breast Screening Programme, England – 2016-17
• Child development outcomes at 2 to 2 and a half years metrics – quarter 1, 2017 to 2018
• Health visitor service delivery metrics – quarter 1, 2017 to 2018
• Tuberculosis by country – 2016 (worldwide table)
• Learning disability services monthly statistics commissioner census (assuring transformation) – December 2017, provisional statistics
• Statistics on NHS stop smoking services in England – April 2017 to September 2017
• Critical care bed capacity and cancelled urgent operations – December 2017
• Preliminary vaccine coverage estimates for the meningococcal B (MenB) immunisation programme for England, update – August to December 2017
• Vaccine coverage estimates for the school based meningococcal ACWY (MenACWY) adolescent vaccination programme in England – to 31 August 2017
• Vaccine coverage estimates for the school based tetanus, diphtheria and polio (Td/IPV, ‘school leaver booster’) adolescent vaccination programme in England – to 31 August 2017
• Social workers and information technology
• Cancer Drugs Fund activity update – Q2, 2017/18 (Additional link: NHS England press release)