Virtual smartcards to help give NHS staff faster access to hospital systems
The use of a virtual smartcard and streamlined processes for physical cards has been given the green-light by NHS Digital
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Category: NHS
COVID-19
NHS England and NHS Improvement launches wellbeing support for health staff
A package of wellbeing measures has been launched as part of a bid to support the health service’s 1.4 million staff as they work to tackle the Coronavirus.
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National workforce plan for Approved Mental Health Professionals (AMHPs)
Department of Health and Social Care, November 2019
Understanding the role of AMHPs in mental health services to help with recruitment and retention of the role in local areas. This document is a resource for agencies wishing to develop their AMHP services and aims to explain the role of AMHPs in mental health services. It contains a summary of all the current guidance. It is for local authorities, directors of adult and children’s social care, NHS mental health trusts, and integrated care system workforce leads.
Click here to view the full report.
A descriptive analysis of health care use by high cost, high need patients in England
The Health Foundation, November 2019
The Health Foundation report exploring health care use by the top 5 per cent of users of primary and secondary care services by cost.
• Despite the increasing financial pressure on the NHS over the past decades, there has been little research to understand the distribution and concentration of health care costs across the population.
• This paper explores for the first time the distribution of both primary and secondary health care costs in England, including GP-prescribed drug cost. Identifying high-cost, high-need patients and examining the way in which they use health care services might help to design initiatives to reduce costs or to improve efficiency.
Click here to view the full report.
Introduction of nursing associates – year 2: evaluation report
Health Education England, November 2019
The Nursing Associate role is a new support role that sits alongside existing healthcare support workers and fully-qualified registered nurses to deliver hands-on care for patients. This report provides an evaluation of the Nursing Associate test site programme of Nursing Associates which began in January 2017.
Click here to view the full report.
Steps to expand placement capacity
NHS Employers, October 2019
The NHS Long Term Plan sets out ambitions to increase the number of people in learning placements across the NHS. To meet these ambitions, employers will have to scale up the ability to offer a safe and high-quality learning environment that supports workforce development. Based on conversations with those organisations which have already grown their capacity, this briefing sets out a series questions and actions, under six key areas to help employers reflect on what more they can do to increase placement capacity in a way that is sustainable for their organisation.
Click here to view the full report.
Employer approaches to building placement capacity
NHS Employers, October 2019
Ambitions to scale up the number of nursing students across the NHS set out within the NHS Long Term Plan and the Interim People Plan will require services to increase the number clinical placements they offer. Understandably there is some apprehension about how additional capacity can be generated. This NHS Employers briefing provides an insight into some of the strategies and ideas being explored by employers to increase placement capacity and offers some options for you to consider.
Click here to view the full report.
Evaluation of the NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES): Report on Initial Evaluation, January 2019
University of Sheffield and Lancaster University, September 2019
This document is an interim report detailing the first six months of an evaluation of the WRES. This is an independent evaluation, conducted at the University of Sheffield, in conjunction with Lancaster University, with funding provided by NHS England. Many aspects of addressing race inequality are specific to individual trusts and the historical and local context in which the organisations operate is important. It is particularly important to consider that it is too soon to expect to see significant change in healthcare delivery and outcomes as a result of the WRES; this will take years to bear proper fruit, and it is still the early stages of that journey.
• It is important that the WRES continues with the same commitment and momentum; it is vital to retain the same indicators and methodology so that trusts can learn as much as possible from their data, by monitoring change over time, and to help them embed the culture change that is needed to ensure greater race equality within the NHS
• It is essential that the future leadership of the WRES is considered a priority, both in terms of ensuring continuity at the national level and in terms of decentralised leadership so there is more expertise at a local level
• In order to maintain positive views of the WRES, steps should be taken to ensure that “monitoring fatigue” is kept to a minimum by allowing greater use of existing data and procedures. This may be particularly important for other initiatives such as the new Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES).
Click here to view the full report.
The ‘make do and mend’ health service: Solving the NHS’ capital crisis
IPPR, September 2019
This report finds that in comparison to similarly advanced economies, the UK’s capital investment in the NHS has been very low. On average, a person living in the UK has missed out on almost £2,000 since 1975 – the equivalent of over £100 billion overall. The report recommends a new settlement to fund capital and support transformation totalling £5.6 billion per year – an 80 per cent uplift. The PFI legacy must also be urgently addressed, through a ‘right to enfranchisement’ for the NHS, which would bring those that represent bad deals back into public ownership.
Click here to view the full report.
Professionalism and Cultural Transformation (PACT) toolkit: A toolkit to support managers to improve professional attitudes and behaviours in the workplace
NHS Employers, August 2019
This toolkit aims to educate and empower staff to improve professionalism within their workplace, helping organisations move towards making the NHS the best place to work. The toolkit is based on tried and tested work undertaken by Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and is designed to help staff embed the PACT programme in their organisation. It contains practical information, advice and solutions to equip staff to deal with unprofessional attitudes and behaviours in the workplace.
Click here to view the full report.