Polypharmacy: getting our medicines right – Royal Pharmaceutical Society
This report provides a summary of the scale and complexity of the issue of polypharmacy. It outlines how health care professionals, patients and carers can find solutions when polypharmacy causes problems for patients and points to useful resources that can help. The guidance recommends that all health care organisations have systems in place to ensure people taking ten or more medicines can be identified and highlighted as requiring a comprehensive medication review with a pharmacist.

Does hospital competition reduce rates of patient harm in the English NHS? – Competition and Markets Authority
Previous hospital mergers have reduced the number of distinct organisations offering publicly funded and provided care in the NHS, reducing choice and between-hospital competition in some areas. This research tests the impact of variation in concentration on a new quality indicator: the prevalence of patient harm from falls, pressure ulcers, blood clots and urinary tract infections. It finds that hospital mergers in concentrated areas without offsetting clinical benefits could significantly increase rates of patient harm.

New procurement framework for advanced clinical practice apprenticeships
Health Education England is developing a national procurement framework for the Level 7 advanced clinical practice apprenticeship.

Universal Personalised Care
NHS England has published Universal Personalised Care: implementing the comprehensive model.  This document sets out how the NHS Long Term Plan commitments for personalised care will be delivered. It introduces the model for personalised care comprising six evidence-based standard components intended to improve health and wellbeing outcomes and quality of care, whilst also enhancing value for money.  Implementation will be guided by delivery partnerships with local government, the voluntary and community sector and people with lived experience.

Personalised care for older people
The Nuffield Trust, commissioned by Age UK, has published Age UK’s Personalised Integrated Care Programme Evaluation of impact on hospital activity.  This report evaluates a scheme providing personalised care for older people who are deemed to be at risk of future emergency admission.  It looks at whether the programme has been able to reduce cost pressures on health and care systems and whether there has been any impact on the levels of hospital use.

Childhood obesity
The Department of Health and Social Care has published Government response to the Health and Social Care Select Committee report ‘Childhood obesity: time for action’.  This paper sets out the government’s response to the conclusions and recommendations in the report ‘Childhood obesity: Time for action’.  The response addresses marketing and advertising, price promotions, early years and schools, takeaways, fiscal measures, labelling and support for children living with obesity.

Work and health
Public Health England has published Health matters: health and work.  This resource brings together data, toolkits and the best evidence of what works in addressing and removing health-related barriers to gaining and retaining employment.  It focuses on the actions that can be taken by employers in general, local authorities and the NHS workforce with regards to health and work.

Bulletins

• Vaccine update –  issue 290, January 2019
• NHS Workforce Bulletin – 28 January 2019
• NICE Update for Primary Care – January 2019
• NICE News – January 2019.

Statistics

• Maternity Services Monthly Statistics – October 2018, Experimental statistics
• Statistics on NHS Stop Smoking Services in England – April to September 2018
• Smoking prevalence in young adults aged 18 to 34 years
• Abdominal aortic aneurysm screening – 2017 to 2018 data

Our Fabulous NHS – Academy of Fabulous Stuff 
***Get involved*** –  share your fab stuff!

• Better Care Together. Alison describes some of the work she does in her role for Kendal Integrated Care Community…
• PAHT – Conference Style Medical Finals Course to encourage Student Choice
  We aimed to assess whether student choice is preferred among medical students with respect to their learning and whether choice helped them feel more prepared for their upcoming examinations.
• Increasing the availability of case notes at Manchester University NHSFT…