King’s Fund
This report makes a compelling case for integration; It gives service users’ perspectives on what integrated care would look like and highlights 10 areas that offer some of the biggest opportunities for improving quality and controlling costs.
JAMA Internal Medicine
This study using medical record data of general medicine patients (n=1000) concludes that high-priority areas for preventing readmissions include better communication among health care teams and patients, enhanced disease monitoring, and better support for patient self-management
JAMA Internal Medicine
This cohort study testing the accuracy of the HOSPITAL score in USA, Canada, Switzerland and Israel, concludes that the tool has the potential to identify patients in need of more intensive transitional care interventions to prevent avoidable hospital readmissions.
NHS Networks
These tools will support the urgent and emergency care networks (UECNs) to deliver the vision of the Urgent and Emergency Care Review by increasing understanding of activity in their patch and supporting commissioners to model and define their local geographical footprint.
NHS Confederation
This briefing by the Picker Institute provides an overview of health systems’ performance and strategies in person-centred care across Europe, focusing on England, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Spain as exemplars and highlights general learning from them.
NHS England has announced that from April, hospitals and other providers of NHS care will be funded to improve the support they offer to frontline health staff to stay healthy. They will be able to earn their share of a national incentive fund worth £600m in 2016/17 if they: offer frontline nurses, therapists, doctors, care assistants and other staff access to workplace physio, mental health support, and healthy workplace options; take action on junk food and obesity by ensuring that healthy food options are available for their staff and visitors; and increase the uptake of the winter flu vaccine for their staff.
Read more here
Public Health England has launched One You.
This campaign suggests that living healthily in midlife can double your chances of being healthy at 70 and beyond.
Everyday habits and behaviours, such as eating too much unhealthy food, drinking more than is recommended, continuing to smoke and not being active enough, are responsible for around 40% of all deaths in England, and cost the NHS more than £11 billion a year.
‘One You’ aims to encourage adults, particular those in middle age, to take control of their health to enjoy significant benefits now, and in later life.
Latest figures show that life expectancy at older ages is at record levels, yet many are spending their retirement living in ill health. Currently 15 million Britons are living with a long-term health condition, yet studies show living healthily in middle age can double your chances of being healthy when you are 70.
The campaign will help adults to move more, eat well, drink less and be smoke free. One You will also provide information on how people can reduce their stress levels and sleep better.
The campaign encourages adults to start by taking a new online health quiz called ‘How Are You’. This innovative quiz provides personalised recommendations based on your results and directs people to tools and advice to help them take action where it’s most needed.
Read more here
In the latest editorial of Aging & Mental Health, Myrra Vernooij-Dassen & Esme Moniz-Cook argue that person-centred care should not only be directed at compensating for what people with dementia cannot do, but also at facilitating their interests, pleasure and use of their capacities.
Full reference :Myrra Vernooij-Dassen & Esme Moniz-Cook (2016): Personcentred dementia care: moving beyond caregiving, Aging & Mental HealthDOI: 10.1080/13607863.2016.1154017
A paper from National Voices suggests that the knowledge, skills, experience and resources of third sector organisations are crucial to the widespread implementation of care and support planning.
It argues that charities have a vital role in supporting people to develop care and support plans, and in working with people with long-term conditions and their clinical teams to put the plans into practice.
Full report: What is the role of VCSE organisations in care and support planning?
BMJ Open
Review found community pharmacy-delivered smoking cessation interventions (INs) are effective and cost effective vs. usual care, whilst weight management INs are as effective as those in other primary care settings. There is insufficient evidence on INs for alcohol reduction.
Quality Improvement News 