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ANNUAL REPORT  2004 - 2005- continued

Patients Forum Meetings 2004 - 05 

Summary of Presentations   

Conference 2005

Delivering health for all - public health & social inclusion
February 2005

 

 

"We have major policy strategies now in place around public health, health inequalities and social inclusion.  The challenge is how we actually bring them all together"

Jonathan Ellis, The Patients Forum

 

"This whole thing is about trying to get health integrated into local communities so that it's not just seen as something the NHS does, but it's about owning our own health"

Sian Griffiths, Department of Health

 

"Those people who are most seriously disadvantaged or who suffer multiple disadvantages are almost by definition those who are least likely to benefit from public services"

Stephen Martin, Social Exlusion Unit

 

"It's very important that we don't just create a new cadre of red guards who charge out with five key message and bludgeon people over the heads about their smoking"

Alistair McCapra, Royal Society for the Promotion of Health

 

 


 

Foundation Trust Review

Paul Durham, Healthcare Commission

November 2004

 

"The review fell out of all the debate in Parliament from becoming a Bill to an Act."

 

 

1. What evidence in general terms is there that NHS Foundation Trusts (NHSFTs) are using their powers to:

  • improve access to services?

  • improve the quality of care for patients?

  • enagage the local community?

  • engage staff to deliver high quality care to patients and the population?

2. What obstacles have they faced and do they foresee, in achieving the above objectives?

 

3. What has been the impact of NHSFTs so far, on relationships within their local health economy?

 

4. In what ways are their governance arrangements assisting or impeding NHSFTs from exercising their powers for the benefit of patients?

 

 


 

Driving Improvement in Health - A New Approach

Jose King & Alison Cahn, Healthcare Commission 'Assessment for Improvement'

January 2005

 

 

What is the Healthcare Commission?

  • our remit covers both NHS and independent sectors

  • we will review both quality of care and value for money

  • we will assess performance in light of national standards

  • we will publish information on the state of healthcare

  • we will encourage improvement in public health

  • we will carry out an independent review of unresolved complaints about care received by the NHS

  • we will seek to coordinate healthcare inspection activity

 

Our Statutory Roles...

  • Assessment of the provision of health care including public health in the NHS & independent sectors

  • Annual ratings for NHS trusts

  • Regulation of the independent sector through licensing and annual inspections

  • Consideration of complaints which NHS trusts have not resolved

  • Investigations into serious service failures

  • Coordination of healthcare inspection activity

 

"The start of a journey...for all healthcare"

 

 


 

The Freedom of Information Act and its impact on health services

Maurice Frankel, Campaign for Freedom of Information

Sue Markey, Information Commissioner's Office

John Grenville, British Medical Association

March 2005

 

"We are ten weeks into the Freedom of Information regime.  I'll give some characteristics of what the regime is.  First, we have three new laws or rather, three new rights that have come into force: the right of access to freedom of information held by public authorities; the right of access to environmental information, which is exempt under the FOI but covered by a separate set of environmental regulations, and an improved right of access to personal data under the Data Protection Act for information held by public authorities.  It doesn't affect access to health records, which is already at a relatively high level of access but it does significantly improve the right of access to most other records, for example to the health records held by people who are not health professionals.

 

What we have got is an enormously wide scope of the legislation.  It applies to central government, it applies to local government, it applies to the NHS, to quangos and regulators, the armed forces and the police.  One of the things it means is that we have no distinction between health bodies and the bodies they work with.  They are all subject to the freedom of information, so social services is covered, the private sector is not covered, but more or less every other sector is covered down to the individual GP.  The regulatory bodies like the GMC are covered, all the advisory bodies, the drug licensing system, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority are covered, the Health Service Ombudsman is covered; so a very very wide range of bodies is covered.  As long as the information is recorded it is subject to the Act and it doesn't matter who created it.

 

The Act provides practically the simplest regime I know for applying for information.  You just need to make your request by writing or by email.  You can send it to whomever you want to in the authority; there is no requirement to send it to a specific and FOI person."

Maurice Frankel

 

"In the year ahead we will be focusing on the FOI Department, developing casework and Awareness Guidance."

Sue Markey

 

"There are tensions, I think, between the Freedom of Information Act and the Data Protection Act and I think many authorities are going to find that quite difficult.  I think doctors are going to find it less difficult because we are used to dealing with personal information.  We have a code of ethics around personal information."

John Grenville

 

 


 

Palliative Care - In the light of the Select Committee Enquiry, what are the outstanding issues, what is the Government doing about them, and what can we do?

Erica Young, National Council for Palliative Care

Claire Henry, End of Life Care Initiative, NHS

May 2005

 

 

House of Commons Health Committee Report on Palliative Care 2004

 

Government Response, Sept 2004

Report welcomed as a valuable opportunity:

  • to review the development of palliative care services

  • to assess the strengths and weaknesses of this important and highly valued service provision

  • to address and consider challenges for the future

 

Recommendations: Choice

  • Non specialists in palliative care...must appreciate the value of early referral to palliative care consultants

  • Consider that the option to die at home  will only be realisable if there is a guarantee of 24 hour care and support with back up

  • DH...should consider...the potential cost benefits arising from...more patients dying in their homes

  • Welcome Govt. considering legislation relating to extra rights for carers

  • Recommend Govt. legislates for a period of paid leave for carers

 

Recommendations: Resources

  • Applaud goal to double palliative care consultants by 2015; also address other shortfalls in staff

  • Welcome additional £50m and National Partnership Group

  • Note Canadian end of life/palliative care coalition...extend National Partnership Group

  • Reliance on charitable funding...need appropriate payment...manage perverse incentives

  • Welcome more sustainable funding...funding mechanism should be suffciently sophisticated

  • Shift in funding from the voluntary to the state sector...opportunity to address issues relating to equity

 

Recommendations - Attitudes

  • The right to 'a good death' should be fundamental

  • Key message...palliative care...will need to operate in a much more equitable way...be delivered more strategically...overcoming the divide between health and social care

 

Changing Attitudes

 

There is increasing openness about death.  Palliative care is not a specialist service for the minority - providing good care at the end of life will affect all health professionals

 

 


 

Dental Complaints within the Private Sector

Gordon Miles, Director, Private Patient Complaints, General Dental Council

July 2005

 

 

What benefis will it bring to dental professionals?

  • Will provide effective complaints resolution service

  • Will focus on resolution, not 'blame'

  • Will be quicker

  • Less formal

  • Less costly

  • Will enable profession to improve their service by learning from complaints

 

Benefits to patients:

  • Will provide effective complaints resolution where communication has broken down

  • Will be quicker, less formal and less costly

  • Will provide quick and easy access to advice via helpline

  • Emphasis on resolving problem

  • Help facilitate satisfactory continuing dental treatment for patients

  • Will reduce discrepancy between NHS and Private dentistry complaints procedure

 

The Role of the National Clinical Assessment Services (NCAS) in relation to Dentistry

Dr Janine Brooks, Associate Director (Dentistry) NCAS

 

 

Purpose:

 

NCAS set up to help the NHS deal in a more timely and consistent way with doctors and dentists whose performance gives cause for concern.

 

Safer practitioners = safer patients

 

Providing support:

  • Advice - on local management of performance concerns

  • Support - expert help to resolve complex performance disputes

  • Assessment - full clinical performance assessment where detailed diagnostic work is needed

  • Action planning and follow up

 

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     © The Patients Forum 2004