Electronic prescribing and safe discharge

Electronic prescribing and medicines administration systems and safe discharge | Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch 

This report examines electronic prescribing and medicines administration (ePMA) systems and highlights that many NHS trusts are taking up this technology as they reduce medication errors, but that incomplete use of e-systems could create further risks to patient safety.

Image source: https://www.hsib.org.uk

The report sets out recommendations around better information sharing and communication, improving medication messaging and alerts to ensure the safe discharge of patients.

For more information, including the safety recommendations in full, download and read the full report:
Electronic prescribing and medicines administration systems and safe discharge | HSIB

Collaborating regionally on apprenticeships

This briefing highlights out how regions have worked together to deliver apprenticeships and maximise the apprenticeship levy | NHS Employers

Apprenticeships can develop and upskill new and existing staff, build career pathways and, when included within workforce planning, can help to address skills shortages across the workforce. The latter is something that more organisations are approaching collaboratively to address skills shortages and increase the amount of apprenticeship levy spent across STPs and ICSs.

This resource would be useful for sustainability and transformation partnerships (STP) or integrated care systems (ICS) leads interested in what other regions are doing, as well as workforce leaders who are looking to work more collaboratively on apprenticeships.

Full briefing:  collaborating regionally on apprenticeships briefing.

Steps To Expand Placement Capacity

This document sets out questions to consider and some suggested actions that could help  expand and improve organisation’s capacity for work placements in a sustainable way | NHS Employers

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.

Full briefing: Steps to expand placement capacity

International alliance sets bold research ambition to detect the (almost) undetectable

Cancer Research UK| October  2019 | International alliance sets bold research ambition to detect the (almost) undetectable

Developing radical new strategies and technologies to detect cancer at its earliest stage is the bold ambition of a new transatlantic research alliance, announced today by Cancer Research UK and partners.

Cancer Research UK is setting out a bold ambition to jump-start this under-explored field of research, collaborating with teams of scientists from across the UK and the US.

The International Alliance for Cancer Early Detection (ACED) is a partnership between Cancer Research UK, Canary Center at Stanford University, the University of Cambridge, the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, UCL and the University of Manchester.

 

Scientists in the Alliance will work together at the forefront of technological innovation to translate research into realistic ways to improve cancer diagnosis, which can be implemented into health systems. Potential areas of research include: ​

• Developing new improved imaging techniques and robotics, to detect early tumours and pre-cancerous lesions
• Increasing understanding of how the environment surrounding a tumour influences cancer development
• Developing less invasive and simpler detection techniques such as blood, breath and urine tests, which can monitor patients who are at a higher risk of certain cancers
• Searching for early stress signals sent out from tumours or surrounding damaged tissue as a new indication of cancer
• Looking for early signs of cancer in surrounding tissue and fluids to help diagnose hard to reach tumours
• Harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence and big data to look for signs of cancer that are undetectable to humans.

As part of the Cancer Research UK’s early detection strategy, the charity will invest an essential cash injection of up to £40 million over the next five years into ACED. Stanford University and the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute will also significantly invest in the Alliance, taking the total potential contributions to more than £55 million (Source: Cancer Research UK).

Full details of the project are available from Cancer Research UK

See also:

BMJ New UK and US research alliance aims to detect cancer earlier and improve screening