Left to chance: the health and care nursing workforce supply in England – Royal College of Nursing (RCN)
This report analyses UCAS data and finds that the number of applications for nursing degree courses has fallen by a third since 2016. It calls for a range of incentives to encourage people into nursing, including a central funding pot in the Department of Health and Social Care to help with students’ costs; more incentives for post-graduates to convert to nursing; and the DHSC and Treasury to cover the cost of apprenticeships to encourage greater uptake by NHS employers.

Getting the best out of general practice
The Nuffield Trust has published Divided we fall: getting the best out of general practice.  This report examines the effects of recent policy to segment general practice into different types of service tailored to the needs of different patients. It looks at the tensions between this new approach and the traditional GP role of ‘medical generalism’ in a service with constrained resources and argues that if medical generalism is undermined, the value that general practice achieves for the NHS will reduce.

Planning guidance
NHS England and NHS Improvement have published Refreshing NHS plans for 2018/19.  This document Explains how funds announced in the November 2017 budget will be distributed and sets out expectations for commissioners and providers in updating their operational plans for 2018/19.

Commissioner Sustainability Fund
NHS England has published Commissioner Sustainability Fund and financial control totals for 2018/19: guidance.  This document provides details of a targeted fund to support those clinical commissioning groups that would otherwise be unable to live within their means for 2018/19.

Approved costing guidance
NHS Improvement has published documentation relating to Approved Costing Guidance.  The Approved Costing Guidance forms a co-ordinated approach to patient-level costing (PLICS), the reference costs collection and the reference costs assurance programme.

NICE surveillance reports
NICE has published the Surveillance Reports below.  These provide a summary of new evidence published related to a NICE guideline and include the decision that NICE has taken about the need to update the relevant clinical guideline in light of this new evidence.

• Antimicrobial stewardship: systems and processes for effective antimicrobial medicine use (NG15 – 2015) – surveillance decision: NICE will not update the guideline at this time.
• Familial breast cancer: classification, care and managing breast cancer and related risks in people with a family history of breast cancer (CG164 – 2013) – surveillance decision: NICE will not update the guideline at this time.  Some editorial or factual corrections were identified and details of theses have been provided
• Cardiovascular disease: risk assessment and reduction, including lipid modification (CG181 – 2015) – surveillance decision: NICE will plan an update of this guideline which fill focus on  identifying and assessing cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, and lipid modification therapy for the primary and secondary prevention of CVD.
• Advanced breast cancer: diagnosis and treatment (CG81 – 2009) – surveillance decision: NICE will not update the guideline at this time.  They will amend relevant sections of the guideline to cross-refer to the published NICE technology appraisals and other NICE guidance related to the diagnosis and treatment of advanced breast cancer.

Healthy towns
NHS England has published Healthy by design: the Healthy New Towns Network prospectus.  This prospectus explains the rationale for the Healthy New Towns Network which brings together health providers, commissioners, local government and developers to create healthier places.

Staff wellbeing and patient experience of care
Picker and The King’s Fund have published The risks to care quality and staff wellbeing of an NHS system under pressure.  This analysis considers the relationships between the self-reported experiences and wellbeing of NHS staff, measures of workforce pressures in the health system, and patients’ experiences of their care.  The report suggests there are relationships between staff wellbeing, patient experiences of their care, and the proportion of money NHS trusts spend on agency workers.

Clinical correspondence handling
The National Audit Office has published Investigation into clinical correspondence handling in the NHS. This investigation sets out responsibilities for redirecting clinical correspondence; the build-up of the backlog of clinical correspondence within Capita; and action taken by NHS England and Capita to investigate and rectify the problem.

Closure of health services at short notices
NHS England has published Joint working protocol: when a hospital, services or facility closes at short notice. This document provides guidance and direction to any organisation involved in a short notice closure to take appropriate and timely action in supporting patients and making sure they get the care and treatment they deserve.

Alternatives to face-to-face GP consultations
The National Institute for Health Research has funded a study which found that alternatives to face-to-face GP consultations are unlikely to deliver hoped-for benefits in practice.  The realities of implementing alternatives to face-to-face consultations such as telephone, email, online and video consultations, mean that hoped-for reductions in GP workload and increases in available appointments for patients might not be realised

Financial reporting
The Healthcare Financial Management Association has published Financial reporting – watching briefing 2017/18 and beyond. This paper summarises the key changes being introduced in financial reporting that may affect finance professionals working in the NHS.

HSJ Roundup (contact the Library for further details)

• Trust given two-year contract after private provider collapse 
  A two year patient transport contract was awarded to an ambulance trust, after it said it would not otherwise be able to provide short term support, it has emerged.
• Five more GP practices to join hospital trust 
  An acute trust leading a new care model vanguard is set to take on the running of five further GP practices this year
• Bid for new inquest after child death ‘cover up’ 
  The attorney general is considering granting a second inquest into the death of a three year old boy who died at Stafford Hospital after three independent experts have backed his parents and cast doubt on the original investigation.
• Trusts face cyber attack inspections amid widespread weaknesses 
  Trusts with lax data security are receiving additional unannounced inspections, as regulators try to patch security vulnerabilities in the wake of the Wannacry cyber attack.
• Deadline for full GP extended hours brought forward 
  National officials have brought forward the date that all parts of the country will deliver extended GP access hours, after exceeding the target for 2017-18.
• NHS allowed to miss A&E target for another year 
  The NHS is not planning to meet the 95 per cent national accident and emergency waiting target for 2018-19, under new system rules published today.
• Every CCG required to increase mental health spending 
  Every clinical commissioning group in the country will be required to increase the proportion of their budget spent on mental health services from next year.
• Elective activity goals to add to workforce pressures 
  NHS trusts will come under pressure in 2018-19 to deliver a new “step change in elective activity” while keeping workforce plans “affordable” and within their ceiling for agency spending.