Tag: future planning

RCP view on the NHS workforce

Short- and medium-term solutions

Source: The King’s Fund

This policy paper outlines how staffing shortages are the biggest barrier to meeting demand for care and delivering health care sustainably in the long term. It describes how a long-term plan for increasing staffing numbers, including expanding medical school places, is needed to put the NHS workforce back on a sustainable footing, restore timely access to care and protect patient safety. But given the urgency of the situation, the RCP has set out a range of short- and medium-term solutions that will make a difference now, from affordable childcare and flexible working to overseas recruitment and a new ‘retire and return’ deal for consultants. 

Community network

There is no community without people: the staffing challenges facing community health services and how we can address them

Source: NHS Providers

This briefing sets out the key workforce pressures facing community health providers, alongside suggested solutions and policy enablers to increase workforce capacity in the sector. The content has been directly informed by the views and experiences of community provider leaders.

For more information click here.

The Health Foundation

NHS Workforce Projections 2022

Source: The King’s Fund

This analysis shows that the NHS in England could face a shortfall of around 38,000 full time equivalent (FTE) registered nurses by 2023/24 relative to the numbers needed to deliver pre-pandemic levels of care. This is despite the expectation that the government could meet its own target of recruiting an additional 50,000 FTE registered NHS nurses by the end of the parliament. It argues that the government needs to acknowledge the growing demand for care driven by an ageing population and an increased number of people with complex health conditions. It also explores potential gaps in the nursing workforce over a longer time period beyond the next election.

Saving and improving lives

The future of UK clinical research delivery

Source: The King’s Fund Health Management and Policy Alert

This policy document outlines the government’s vision to unleash the full potential of clinical research delivery to tackle health inequalities, bolster economic recovery and improve the lives of people across the UK.

The future of clinical research delivery sets out the vision for a more patient-centred, pro-innovation and digitally-enabled clinical research environment, which builds on the successes and the lessons we have learned in response to COVID-19 and harnesses the UK’s potential to capitalise on cutting-edge innovations across all treatments and technologies, all phases of research and all conditions.

Their vision puts clinical research delivery front and centre of our plans to build back better so we can tackle the healthcare challenges of the future and patients across the UK and around the world benefit from better health outcomes.

The 5 key themes underpinning the vision are:

  • clinical research embedded in the NHS
  • patient-centred research
  • streamlined, efficient and innovative research
  • research enabled by data and digital tools
  • a sustainable and supported research workforce

The goal is to create a clinical research delivery ecosystem which will shape the future of healthcare and improve people’s lives for years to come.

State of health and care

The NHS long-term plan after Covid-19

Source: The King’s Fund Health Management and Policy Alert

After a decade of austerity, the NHS long-term plan was meant to be a turning point for health care. However, those plans have been severely disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. This analysis shows the scale of the damage done by the pandemic across several major health conditions. It recommends a package of six ambitious changes to ‘build back better’.

Library Survey

Be in with the chance of winning a Christmas Hamper

In order for us to provide the best service, we would greatly appreciate it, if you could spend 5 minutes completing our Library Users survey. This will help inform us of what we are doing well and provide ideas for how we can continue to develop and improve. Your feedback is of great importance to us and we would consider any recommendations for future planning.

The survey can be found here; https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/TSZNXFP and will take no more than 5 minutes to complete.

All completed entries, have the option for you to be entered into a draw to win a Christmas Hamper, just in time for the festive season.

We hope you continue to use our service to incorporate evidence based research within your practice. For access to our Library resources please visit out Trustnet page: http://trustnet2013/Networks/SupportServices/lis/Pages/default.aspx or contact the Library team with any questions or queries you may have: academic.library@lscft.nhs.uk.

Healthwatch

590 people’s stories of hospital during Covid-19

In partnership with British Red Cross, this report reviews the experiences of 590 people after being discharged from hospital. The research shows significant numbers of people are not receiving follow-up support under the new policy to switch to a ‘discharge to assess’ model introduced in March 2020 to cope with demand at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic), leading to unmet needs. It calls on the NHS to address these issues coming into the busy winter period amid growing pressures of a second Covid-19 wave.

To find out more click here.

‘Long Covid’ Sufferers

NHS to offer help at specialist centres

There is increasing evidence to suggest that 10% of Covid sufferers are still experiencing symptoms more than 3 weeks after infection and an estimated 60,0000 people suffering after 3 months of infection.

NHS chief executive Sir Simon Stevens announced that £10 million is to be invested this year in addition to local funding to help kick start and designate long covid clinics in every area across England, to complement existing primary, community and rehabilitation care.

He explained;

“While this is still a relatively new virus, we are learning more about covid with every passing week. It is now clear that long covid can have a major impact on the lives of a significant minority of patients weeks or months after they have contracted the virus. So just as the NHS quickly put in place specialist hospital care for acutely ill Covid patients at the start of the pandemic, now we must respond sensitively and effectively to these new patient needs.”

To read more about this, including the 5 part package of measure to boost NHS support for long covid patients click here.

Centre for mental health

Local authorities and public mental health

In order to stay healthy and avoid serious distress we need to place emphasis on our mental wellbeing to prevent mental health problems. What better way to do this, than to work together and collaborate different strategies and initiatives?

Local authorities play a key role in improving mental health in their communities, to bring people together and reduce inequalities. A recent report written with the Local Government Association, argues that people’s mental wellbeing will play a crucial role in every aspect of recovery planning, including schools reopening, workers returning from furlough, people who have been shielding, and in dealing with the economic and housing consequences of coronavirus (Covid-19).

The report highlighted 4 common principles:

  1. Public mental health is everyone’s business
  2. Collaboration
  3. Place-based approaches
  4. Taking a holistic approach

It concludes that a national focus is needed on helping everyone stay mentally well, backed up by funding for councils.

To read the full report click here.