NEW additions to the GIRFT Best Practice Library 
The GIRFT BPL continues to grow and additional content is now available, including:

• Spinal – a new page for spinal surgery (now separate from orthopaedics), including the national report, surgical pathways and best practice case studies.
• Litigation – our recently released Learning From Litigation Claims best practice guidance, produced in collaboration with NHS Resolution: download here.
• Ophthalmology – a new guide to getting high volume cataract hubs running successfully, in collaboration with the Royal College of Ophthalmologists: click here
• High volume low complexity (HVLC) – a new guide to support NHS regions and system leaders in the development of local HVLC delivery plans, including theatre principles, standardised pathways and specialty gateways.

Using targets to improve public services – Institute for Government 
The government has added new targets to existing ones across key public services such as the NHS, schools and the police, which it hopes will improve performance in those services hit by the Covid-crisis. But this report reveals the way that targets have been used for easy wins have ignored important issues and manipulated data. To ensure that new targets are not counterproductive, the government should: develops targets in partnership with those responsible for meeting them; carefully considers the data that is needed, how this is collected and how it will be used to avoid creating unnecessary paperwork for frontline staff; and reviews targets regularly and amends or scraps them if they are having unintended consequences.

Naming the issue: chronic excessive workload in the NHS – King’s Fund
The Health and Social Care Committee’s report on workforce burnout and resilience in the NHS and social care is unequivocal. Chronic excessive workload is damaging staff health, patient care and staff’s long-term ability to provide high-quality and compassionate care for people in their communities. In a context of inadequate resources including unsatisfactory levels of staffing, equipment, training and supportive leadership, workload is the number one factor predicting ever-increasing levels of staff stress.

My role in tackling health inequalities: a framework for allied health professionals – The King’s Fund 
The King’s Fund worked with allied health professionals (AHPs) from across the UK to develop a framework to support any AHP to think through and understand their contribution to tackling health inequalities, whatever their role. The framework details how AHPs can raise awareness, take action and optimise advocacy through six lenses: self; patients; clinical teams, pathway and service groups; communities and networks; systems; and nurturing the future. This work was commissioned by Public Health England and NHS England and NHS Improvement.

Socially excluded older people and their access to health and care services: insights from professionals -Age UK 
In this report Age UK and the Salvation Arm, together with people who are socially excluded and key professionals, explore some of the challenges older people face when accessing support. Themes the research highlighted are: older people who are socially excluded are living with complex health challenges; existing support services often don’t meet the needs of older people; unhealthy behaviours present a greater risk as we get older; and older people face certain attitudes and stereotypes.

Supporting people with arthritis waiting for surgery – Versus Arthritis
This report calls on local health systems to implement a package of support to improve the experiences of people with arthritis who are waiting for surgery. Those surveyed emphasised the importance of getting the right support to manage pain, distress, physical health, wellbeing and finances, as well as the need for good communication from health professionals.

Integrated Care Systems: design framework – NHS England and NHS Improvement
These documents set out the headlines for how NHS leaders and organisations will be asked to operate with their partners in Integrated Care Systems from April 2022 and guidance in respect of what the employment commitment is, its application in practice and how it affects people.

Data strategy to support delivery of patient centred care – Department of Health and Social Care
Patients to have better access and greater control over their health and care data under new proposals.

Data saves lives: reshaping health and social care with data (draft) – Department of Health and Social Care
The draft strategy sets out ambitious plans to harness the potential of data in health and care, while maintaining the highest standards of privacy and ethics.

Guidance: What your NHS COVID Pass letter tells you – Department of Health and Social Care
An NHS COVID Pass letter allows you to show others that you’ve had a full course of the COVID-19 vaccine when travelling abroad to some countries or territories.

NHS Pension Scheme changes to final pay controls – NHS Employers 
The Department of Health and Social Care has confirmed that proposed changes to the final pay control regulations in the 1995 section of the NHS Pension Scheme will go ahead from 1 July 2021.

Whole system quality: a unified approach to building responsive, resilient health care systems – Institute for Healthcare Improvement 
This paper describes a more holistic approach to quality management. Through a process of rigorous learning, health care organizations can design resilient and responsive management systems to continuously deliver services that reliably and sustainably meet the evolving needs of patients, populations, and communities — in times of both stability and crisis. Free registration is required to access this paper.

How can virtual hospitals aid recovery and offer a new relationship between the NHS and the public? – NHS Confed
The adoption and spread of virtual tools to provide care has been at the heart of the NHS’s response to coronavirus. But how can we build on these new service innovations and ways of working to aid recovery and improve care?

Covid-19: Prepare for a third wave, warns England’s chief medical officer -BMJ 
Speaking at a conference, the Chief Medical Officer highlighted the positive impact that the vaccination programme is having on deaths and serious illness, but noted that the growth of the significantly more transmissible delta Covid-19 variant made a third wave likely.

Recent NICE Guidance