Falls risk assessment tool

Walsall CCG, in partnership with Keele University, have developed an Emis web protocol and template to help identify patients at risk of falls and potentially at risk of unplanned hospital admissions.

Image source: Wellcome Library//CC BY 4.0

The Falls Risk Assessment Toolkit allows users to search for read codes consistent with predictors of falls risk as recommended by NICE and high risk psychotropic medicines which can contribute to falls. It can also identify patients over the age of 65 who may benefit from a medication review or falls assessment  and prompt background alerts to systematically identify ‘at risk’ patients.

Fit for purpose: workforce policy in the English NHS

Health Foundation

Source: Health Foundation

As modern health care becomes ever more complex, designing effective ‘workforce policy’ – how the health service plans, trains, regulates, pays and supports its people to ensure affordable, good quality care – is one of the central challenges facing the system today.  This report gives an overview of the components of workforce policy in the English NHS and the bodies which shape it. It argues that government and national leaders need a radical new approach to inspire an NHS workforce that is too often stressed, stretched and disaffected.

Galvanising the NHS to adopt innovation

Rand Corporation

The Department of Health and the Wellcome Trust, in co-operation with NHS England, asked RAND Europe to conduct a limited consultation with key stakeholders about the practicality of measures and incentives proposed as part of the NHS Accelerated Access Review (AAR), which aims to assess the pathways for the development, assessment, and adoption of innovative medicines and medical technology. Through a focused engagement exercise with key healthcare stakeholders this project explored the implications of selected interim AAR propositions and feasibility of implementation for key actors, in primary and secondary care as well as commissioners and academia.

Patient safety alert: risk of death from failure to prioritise home visits in general practice

NHS England

This patient safety alert highlights the need for the prioritisation of GP home visits and raises awareness of recognised good practice to have systems in place to triage and prioritise home visits.

Six ways in which NHS financial pressures can affect patient care

NHS finances are almost at breaking point. Since 2010, the unprecedented slowdown in funding growth and rising demand have made it increasingly difficult for the health service to live within its means. But what does this mean for people who access health services, and how can they examine the effect of financial pressures on their local health system? As part of an in-depth project that we are conducting over the next 6 months, this page examines the six ways in which patients can experience issues in access to care.

Improving patient experience through the physical environment

Hospitals in pursuit of excellence

This guide draws on the experience of the American health system and describes a “people, process, place” model that will help hospital and health system leaders identify ways to improve the patient experience of care.

Rehabilitation Commissioning Guidance

NHS England has published new guidance for commissioning rehabilitation services. It contains links to the latest evidence and examples of good practice, including advice on how to commission high-quality service from the perspective of patients and their families.

Improving feedback on junior doctors’ prescribing errors: mixed-methods evaluation of a quality improvement project

BMJ Quality and Safety

This study found that three linked interventions suggest improved experiences around feedback. However, attempts to produce a measurable reduction in prescribing errors are likely to need a multifaceted approach of which feedback should form part.

Digital requirements for new primary care models

Nuffield Trust

This briefing looks at emerging changes in primary care, and how digital technology can help managers and clinicians to deliver them.

Sustainability and transformation plans: a major new development in commissioning health and care

by Regional Voices

July 2016 sees the deadline for the production of sustainability and transformation plans – joint plans produced by NHS providers, CCGs, local authorities, and other health and care services (including VCSE partners) for 44 ‘footprint’ geographical areas across England. These will form the basis for long term, place based planning and commissioning of services. This briefing provides more details and provides guidance on how to get involved in your area.