The Patients Association

Shared decision making from the perspective of clinicians and healthcare professionals

Source: The King’s Fund

This report finds health care professionals are positive about shared decision-making – a way of working with patients to decide treatment options. But the report also finds professionals’ ability to practice shared decision-making regularly is limited by the current crisis in the NHS. The report makes a number of recommendations and The Patients Association will now look to partner with NHS England, the Personalised Care Institute and other organisations to support professionals’ call for more support to practice shared decision-making.

Covid 19

Current awareness updates

Inequalities in healthcare disruptions during the Covid-19 pandemic: Evidence from 12 UK population-based longitudinal studies.
medRxiv; 2021.

[The research, led by UCL and the University of Glasgow, found further evidence that minority ethnic groups were more likely to have their healthcare affected by the Covid crisis than white people, with the combined results of the 12 studies suggesting minority ethnic groups reported 19% more problems during the epidemic. This article is a preprint and has not been certified by peer review.]

An obesity strategy to reduce COVID-19 morbidity and mortality.
Glasper A. British Journal of Nursing 2021;30(10):612-614.

[In 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson launched a series of policy initiatives as part of his government’s new obesity strategy. The prime minster himself was admitted to an intensive care unit after being infected with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and succumbing to COVID-19. Following his successful treatment and discharge from hospital he acknowledged that his deterioration was probably linked to his own excess body weight.]

Importance of patient bed pathways and length of stay differences in predicting COVID-19 hospital bed occupancy in England.[Abstract]
Leclerc QJ. BMC Health Services Research 2021;21(1):566.

[We identified five bed pathways, with substantial variation in LoS by bed type, pathway, and geography. This might be caused by local differences in patient characteristics, clinical care strategies, or resource availability, and suggests that national LoS averages may not be appropriate for local forecasts of bed occupancy for COVID-19.]

Delivering routine immunisations in London during the Covid-19 pandemic: lessons for future vaccine delivery.
Skirrow H. British Journal of General Practice Open 2021;(18 May)

[Mixed-methods study of immunisation delivery in London including an online survey of GP practices and interviews were used to explore new immunisation delivery models which built on existing local knowledge, experiences and networks.]

Strategies and action points to ensure equitable uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations: A national qualitative interview study to explore the views of undocumented migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees.
Deal A. Journal of Migration and Health 2021;4(-):100050.

[Report of in-depth semi-structured qualitative interviews (n=32) of recently arrived migrants (foreign-born, >18 years old; <10 years in the UK) to the UK with precarious immigration status, seeking their input into strategies to strengthen COVID-19 vaccine delivery and uptake.]

Community-based volunteering in response to COVID-19: the COV-VOL project.
NIHR Applied Research Collaboration, Kent, Surrey and Sussex; 2021.

[A study by a team from the University of Kent, Brighton and Sussex Medical School and Sussex University shows how voluntary community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations have made a significant, positive impact on the well-being of older people self-isolating at home during the first COVID-19 lockdown. The pandemic has highlighted the importance of volunteers and community and the role VCSE organisations can play as key and essential partners in our health and social care systems.]

The 3 R’s of Social Care Reform: How constructive risk taking, respectful relationships and a sense of reciprocity characterised a positive response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Think Local Act Personal; 2021.

[TLAP has been talking to people across social care, and including those who draw on care and support, about their experiences during the pandemic. This paper reflects on these conversations and identifies drivers of the promising examples of practice, marked by changes in behaviour and increased levels of trust. It suggests that positive risk-taking, respectful relationships and a sense of reciprocity are key ingredients in characterising a positive response to the pandemic.]

Unlocking the digital front door – keys to inclusive healthcare.
National Voices; 2021.

[This report explores how the move to remote service models impacted people and how the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector (VCSE) has led innovative ways to deliver healthcare and support to people during the COVID 19 pandemic. Also available is a literature review and insight data, personal narratives and recommendations for better practice, better policy, and better innovations.]

School closures and parents’ mental health.
Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER); 2021.

[In this study, researchers from the universities of Essex, Surrey and Birmingham, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, consider the dynamics of parents’ mental health during the pandemic. The study is the first of its kind to look specifically at the impact of having children at home as a result of school closures, separating it from other factors affecting parents’ mental health during the pandemic.]

Outsourcing as a threat to public health: the case for insourcing public sector cleaners and facilities management.
New Economics Foundation; 2021.

[The evidence cited in this report suggests that outsourced health facilities management services pose a threat to public health. This represents a major weakness in the UK’s ability to cope with subsequent waves of Covid-19. As a matter of public health, this paper recommends that the government should launch an urgent and independent inquiry into the outsourcing of key workers.]

Targeted AF detection in COVID-19 vaccination clinics.
Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT), Oxford AHSN; 2021.

[This document brings together learning from several pilot sites which have been carrying out targeted detection of atrial fibrillation (AF) in COVID-19 vaccination clinics. The aim is to provide guidance for systems wishing to develop a standard operating procedure for offering targeted rhythm checks for AF detection in mass vaccination clinics.]

Coronavirus and vaccination rates in people aged 70 years and over by socio-demographic characteristic, England : 8 December 2020 to 9 May 202.
Office for National Statistics (ONS); 2021.

[Difference in vaccination rates by sociodemographic group, sex, ethnicity, religion, main language, living in areas of deprivation, and disability.]


Health Literacy E-Learning

Health Education England and NHS Education for Scotland have produced joint e-learning on Health Literacy

This Health Literacy e-learning takes approximately 35 minutes to complete. It introduces the importance of health literacy and covers teach back, chunk and check, using simple language, using pictures and routinely offering help. The content relates to both clinical and non-clinical settings and may be used as a refresher for team members or as an introduction for colleagues who are interested in health literacy.

Register for the e-learning here

BMJ Open

Leadership development in complex health systems: a qualitative study

Objective leadership is associated with organisational performance in healthcare, including quality, safety and clinical outcomes for patients. Leadership development programmes have proliferated in recent years. Nevertheless very few have examined participant experiences in depth in order to understand which programmatic aspects they regard as most valuable relative to leadership in increasingly complex systems, or whether and how learnings may sustain over time. This article explores experiences of participants in an interdisciplinary leadership development programme using qualitative methods over an extended look-back period.

Read more here

NHS Employers

The health, safety and wellbeing of shift workers in healthcare environments

This guidance explores: how shift work can impact on health, safety and wellbeing; what measures can be taken by employers and employees; and the importance of partnership working on shift working patterns.

Read the guidance here