Payment reform, purchaser and provider decisions and the performance of emergency healthcare systems: the case of blended payment in the English NHS  – Centre for Health Economics 
This paper constitutes the first and foundational output of the ESHCRU2 project 3 – Analysis of purcher-provider contracts: modelling risk sharing and incentive implications. This project focuses on the implications of payment reform of what is called blended payment for emergency care. The paper sets out the theoretical model developed to understand how behavioural choices could be influenced by this payment reform.

Bringing hospital care home: virtual wards and hospital at home for older people – British Geriatrics Society
This report explores the potential benefits, limitations, and current scientific evidence to be considered when providing a safe, effective, and person-centred alternative to hospital inpatient care for older adults. This publication highlights how ‘virtual wards’ are being funded and implemented. It explains the various definitions of the term ‘virtual wards’ as used in different parts of the UK and describes the face-to-face care delivered by a multidisciplinary team, combined with some remote monitoring.

Guidance for emergency departments: initial assessment – NHS England 
This guidance makes recommendations for models of initial assessment of patients arriving at emergency departments and provides standard definitions of the processes that classify as initial assessment: streaming, triage, and rapid assessment and treatment. It recognises that initial assessment and flow from the front door of a hospital are a crucial first step on a patient’s journey.

Postoperative nutritional management among patients with oesophago-gastric cancer in England: NOGCA short report – National Oesophago-Gastric Cancer Audit (NOGCA) 
This report provides insight into current postoperative nutritional practices in ten (27.8 per cent) oesophago-gastric cancer specialist centres across England, based on 617 patients who underwent curative surgery after being diagnosed between April 2019 and March 2020. The report found that, for patients who had oesophagectomy, the most commonly reported nutritional management strategy was enteral nutrition delivered via a jejunostomy during the admission and continued on discharge (51.0 per cent). It also found that the majority of oesophagectomy patients (83.9 per cent) had a jejunostomy or received parenteral nutrition during their surgical admission.

National Audit of Dementia: memory assessment service spotlight audit 2021 – Royal College of Psychiatrists
This report looks at community-based memory assessment services in England and Wales. It found that the average waiting time from referral to diagnosis has increased to 17.7 weeks since 2019, up from 13 weeks. Other key findings include: over 70 per cent of services experienced periods of closure, and over 80 per cent had staff redeployed during 2020; as part of their initial assessment, 61 per cent of patients had a discussion recorded about their eyesight, 58 per cent had a discussion recorded about hearing, and 76 per cent had a falls history discussed and recorded; and CT/MRI scans were requested for 47 per cent of patients, with variation in requests of 0-97.4 per cent of patients per service. This range implies that variation is at service/protocol level, rather than assessed as appropriate in each case.

Vision for pharmacy practice in England – Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) 
The RPS’s project with The King’s Fund, transforming pharmacy practice, is developing a vision for the role of pharmacists and pharmacy teams working across systems providing patient care and NHS services. People are being asked to respond to a consultation survey on six key themes and The King’s Fund have completed a literature review which has helped inform these initial themes. The consultation closes at 5pm on Friday 30th September 2022.

NHS Employers – roundup

• The NHS Pension Scheme as a tool for retention A free, online learning course outlining the value of the NHS Pension Scheme and how to promote it to help retain and recruit staff.
• Band 2 and 3 clinical support worker roles webinar Webinar: NHS Employers – band 2 and 3 clinical support worker roles – supporting employers to respond to current issues.
• Implementing SAS advocate and specialist roles Read our blog to see how one trust has developed the SAS advocate role and implemented the specialist grade.
• Ambitions for Change phase two report The latest report on diversity and different experiences of NMC processes has been published.
• Updates from the Health Care Professionals Council Learn more about the latest news and updates from the Health Care Professionals Council (HCPC).
• Seven suggestions for sustaining engagement in tough times We’ve captured top tips from some of the best performing organisations in the 2021 NHS Staff Survey.
• Beating burnout in the NHS Burnout in the NHS is more prevalent than ever. NHS trusts must address this to ensure staff wellbeing and high-quality patient care is sustainable.

HSJ Roundup –  Full text available << click here to e-mail your request to the Hanley Library >>

• Revealed: NHS England’s list of trusts with worst elective and cancer problems Almost a third of acute trusts have been identified by NHS England as being ‘at risk’ of missing key targets for electives and cancer recovery, with some facing ”periodic calls between ministers and CEOs”, HSJ can reveal.
• ICS chair resigns after ‘illegal’ recording sent to journalists A prominent system leader in London has resigned after a recording of a private conversation in which she made several disparaging comments was sent to journalists.
• Fraudulent ex-NHS chair told he must repay almost £100k A former NHS chair who lied his way into a string of top jobs must pay back nearly £100,000 of earnings after the Supreme Court overruled his successful appeal.
• Safety fears prompt NHS trusts to support troubled independent provider Five East Midlands trusts are working with the country’s largest independent mental health provider in a bid to improve service quality, amid concerns patient safety would have been put at risk if they had not stepped in.
• Behan made full member of NHS England board Former Care Quality Commission chief Sir David Behan has been appointed as a full member of NHS England’s board.
• Government examines surge in ‘potentially preventable’ deaths Department of Health and Social Care officials are concerned that many more people are dying than expected in recent months – particularly older working-age people – with NHS care delays and interruptions a likely cause.
• Dozens of referrals for vulnerable mothers refused due to ‘lack of beds’ Dozens of referrals to specialist care for women with serious mental health problems during or after pregnancy are being turned down because no bed was available, data collected by HSJ reveals.
• Mental Health Matters: Vulnerable mothers falling through the cracks HSJ’s fortnightly briefing covering safety, quality, performance and finances in the mental health sector, by correspondent Emily Townsend — contact me in confidence.
• Mapped: RTT waiting times An interactive map of local NHS waits around England in June 2022, showing the pressures, with links to all the details by organisation and specialty.
• New approach to safety incidents will see fewer investigations Major reforms have been set out on how NHS organisations should respond to patient safety incidents, with the aim of ensuring better engagement with patients and families.
• Covid redeployment ‘wrong’ and ‘will never be repeated’ Redeployment of community staff to other services – meaning visits for babies and parents were missed – was the “wrong decision” and would “never be repeated”, a provider has stated.
• Four trusts to form single ‘board in common’ North west London’s acute trusts are set to form a single “board in common” from this autumn.
• New NHSE national director role advertised NHS England is advertising for a new deputy chief operating officer and national director of urgent and emergency care.
• Trust fixes high-risk outdated electrics after warnings A trust is facing a backlog of millions of pounds of work to mend critical pieces of infrastructure, despite having already taken measures to replace or repair parts which had been operating in excess of their capacity and beyond their life expectancy.
• ICSs will be first to intervene in failing trusts, says NHS England NHS England has said integrated care systems will be responsible for ‘initial problem solving and intervention’ if trusts fail to deliver against key targets to prepare for winter.
• NHS England reveals six targets for ICSs this winter NHS England today identified six key metrics it will use to monitor the performance of every integrated care system this winter.
• New covid-inspired data system delayed by NHS England NHS England has delayed its procurement for a new flagship technology system which it hopes will greatly improve the way the health service and patients use and access data.
• Summer crisis deepens as trolley waits hit new high Performance figures deteriorated to record lows this month as the unprecedented summer NHS crisis deepens, with trolley waits reaching a new high point and the waiting list growing to more than 6.7 million people.