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News
and Invites
Welcome
to News and Invites, where we aim to bring you news and information
that you will find helpful, all in one place.
Firstly for an update
of what’s been happening at the Patients Forum:
News from
the Patients Forum – As you may be aware the offices for administration
for the Patients Forum has moved to the Health Link Offices at 62, Beechwood
Road London E8 3DY you can contact me there via Jenny Sharp, who has
taken over the role from Unnati as administrator, you can contact Jenny
by:-
Phone: 020
7254 8468
Email: info@Thepatientsforum.org.uk
Please
let Jenny know if you have any ideas or suggestions for the news and
invites information sheet, or if there are other matters you would like
us to consider.
Renewal of subscriptions – Please find attached subscriptions
renewal invoice for the period 1st April 2007 – 31st March 2008. We
would be grateful if you could send your payments, as soon as possible,
by cheque to Jenny at the above address. There has been no increase
in subscriptions and we hope you will consider this good value, particularly
in view of the programme of events we have lined up for you (see below).
Renewals
invoice 2007/2008
National
Voices
You will be aware
that The Patients’ Forum has expressed its support, in principle, for
the establishment of National Voices. To bring you up to speed on this,
here is a short biography:
'National
Voices' will coordinate a network of voluntary sector organisations
in England to provide a way for everyone whose lives are affected by
national health and social care to have a say in shaping policy.
In autumn 2006,
following support from the Department of Health, a working group, chaired
by Baroness Delyth Morgan, produced a proposal to establish 'National
Voices', a voluntary sector body whose membership would be open to all
organisations concerned with health and social care in England. Inspired
by a vision of transformation in national health and social care policy
making, so that the needs and preferences of service users and carers
are central, our aim is to provide a way for organisations created by
people whose lives are affected by health and social care policy to
have their voices heard. 'National Voices' is not about creating a single
voice, but enabling and empowering a diversity of voices to become prominent
in influencing national policy, including – importantly – those voices
previously “seldom heard”. We are currently working towards launching
this new ‘organisation of organisations’ in early 2008.
To better understand
the needs of stakeholders, an engagement exercise was carried out involving
over 400 organisations in the voluntary sector, which led to the publication
of a second, more developed proposal document that was warmly welcomed
by health minister Rosie Winterton MP. The proposal tailed our plans
to influence policy making by working with the National Health Service,
Social Care, and other government departments and national bodies -
enabling effective communication amongst all parties. Functions would
include signposting government departments and ministers to relevant
specialised knowledge and offering a range of services to support its
members. The document also laid out the organisation’s guiding principles,
namely, that ‘National Voices’ will be
- Open and transparent
- Inclusive and
diverse
- Facilitative
and enabling
- Based on shared
ownership and shared learning
- Equitable
Following publication
of the second proposal document, and Delyth Morgan’s appointment to
the Government Whip’s Office, Baroness Jill Pitkeathley took over as
Chair of the Working Group. We employed two part-time, temporary staff
members and consultants with specialised knowledge. They have been working
on a comprehensive business proposal, a governance framework and a communication
strategy. We believe that ‘National Voices’ will be successful if service
user involvement becomes a pre-requisite to policy making, and no policy
or strategic decision can emerge without voluntary sector engagement.
It is expected that ‘National Voices’ will champion the interests of
service users, patients and carers and in so doing, provide them with
a complementary and co-ordinated voice for effective and useful decision-making
in health and social care.
For more information
about 'National Voices', contact nationalvoices@ltca.org.uk
Could
you provide leadership in supporting patients and the public to
influence cancer research in the UK?
The
National Cancer Research Institute is a UK partnership between
Government, charity and industry promoting cooperation in cancer
research among its 21 member organisations for the benefit of
patients, the public and the scientific community.
The National
Cancer Research Network was established in April 2001 by the Department
of Health in England to improve the quality, speed and integration
of cancer clinical trials to improve patient care. The NCRN consists
of 33 research networks providing the NHS infrastructure to support
cancer clinical research and a Coordinating Centre.
The NCRI plays
a strategic role in the development and oversight of the NCRN.
NCRN and NCRI collaborate closely on a range of issues that impact
on the quality and management of cancer research. Through its
Coordinating Centre, the NCRN manages, administers and supports
a variety of initiatives on behalf of the NCRI including the NCRI
Clinical Studies Groups (CSGs) whose role is to oversee the development
of the portfolio of cancer clinical research in the UK.
For more information
about the NCRN and NCRI, visit our websites at: www.ncrn.org.uk
and www.ncri.org.uk
We
are looking to recruit a Chair for our Consumer Liaison Group.
A key focus for the consumer involvement work of the NCRN and
NCRI is the NCRI Consumer Liaison Group (CLG). The CLG operates
to improve the quality and value of cancer research through consumer
involvement and to raise public awareness of clinical research
and cancer research in particular. As part of its remit, the CLG
provides patient and public representation for all the NCRI CSGs,
where new ideas for cancer research are developed.
As Chair of
the CLG help us to develop our strategic understanding of the
views and interests of patients and the public on a range of cancer
research related issues.
- Are you
committed to involving patients and the public in cancer research?
- Do you
have recent personal experiences of cancer services?
- Do you
have excellent leadership and communication skills?
- Can you
work effectively across a range of organisations, diverse groups
and interests at all levels?
- Do you
have experience of effectively chairing committees/groups?
- Would
you enjoy the challenge of applying your leadership skills and
knowledge to new areas?
As Chair you
will be required to provide strategic input and advice to the
NCRI and NCRN in order to support development of the consumer
involvement programme and to provide reports on CLG activity via
your representation on the NCRI Board and NCRN Operational Steering
Group.
This is a
3 year term of office and we offer an annual honorarium of £10,000
as well as an attendance fee for meetings, expenses, training
and support to get you up to speed with the issues being discussed.
Application
packs are available to download at: www.ncrn.org.uk
and www.ncri.org.uk.
Alternatively please contact the NCRN Coordinating Centre on 0113
343 2254.
Deadline
for return of applications: 25th April 2008
Interviews will be held in Leeds on: 16th May 2008
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Future
Patients Forum meetings - dates for your diary As you are all
aware all our meetings will start with business items at 1.30
and then move on to the presentations and discussions between members,
until about 4 pm.
Date:
11th July 2007
Time: 1.30
Venue: Which, Marylebone Rd. NW1
Topic:
How can a Code of Ethics or Practice for health care professionals
safeguard patients’ and clients’ interests?
Speakers:
F Blunden, Health Policy Manager, Which, RPSGB
Others: TBA
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Date:
14th November 2007
Time: 1.30
Venue: Which, Marylebone Rd. NW1
Topic: Will the changes to commissioning
and the introduction of greater competition in the NHS improve
services for patients and if, so how?
Speakers:
DH spokesman tbc
D Allirajah, Health Policy Manager, Macmillan Cancer Support
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Date:
12th September 2007
Time: 1.30
Venue: Which, Marylebone Rd NW1
Annual General Meeting with Speaker H Cayton, Director of Patients
& the Public, Department of Health
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Dates in
2008 likely to be 9 January and 6 February,
same place and same time. We will cover Patient and Public Involvement,
and how effective patient involvement can be achieved. We are hoping
to have speakers from the Department of Health and the NHS Centre for
Involvement and will be looking at the developments around the National
Voices initiative and changes at the Health Care Commission in inspection
and patient involvement.
NEWS &
INVITES
Week commencing 8th June 2007
Please
note that all invitations are sent from external organisations named
and NOT the Patients Forum. Please contact them with any
queries. Thank You.
PUTTING
A PRICE ON HEALTH
Date:
Wednesday 20 June 2007
Venue: Chandos House, 2 Queen Anne Street, London
W1G 9LQ
Time: 4.45pm tea and registration; 5.15pm programme
7.00pm refreshments
The cost of
medicines has an impact on all of us, as patients, researchers,
prescribers, supporters of the UK science and clinical research
base, those who make decisions about the use of NHS resources,
taxpayers and beneficiaries of UK inward investment.
Always a hot topic, the cost of medicines will soon be more in
the news, with the publication of the Government’s response to
the Office of Fair Trading’s critical report on the PPRS. This
is the system used to control the prices of medicines to the NHS
and negotiated between Government and ABPI on a five yearly basis.
Come and join us and a range of stakeholders to hear our views
on:
- What has
been said - David Fisher, Commercial Director, ABPI
- How it
adds up -Ed Godber, Senior Economist, Office of Health Economics
- Where
to from here - Dr Richard Barker, Director-General, ABPI
- Let us
hear what you think
This will
be an interesting and lively event followed by refreshments and
light bites. We hope you and/or colleagues are able to join us.
The evening is free for staff and members of voluntary groups
and those in the public sector. Please return the reply form to
Stacy Cosshall (details
on reply form attached)
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Mind
the Gap - Working in partnership towards better medicines information
for patients
Date:
Tuesday, 3rd July,
Time: 9.30am-4.30pm
Venue: Number One George Street, London SW1,
As you might
know, the ABPI are holding a one day conference on medicines information
in partnership with Ask about Medicines, Cancerbackup and Diabetes
UK.
This conference
will provide a platform for action to meet patients’ needs for
better access to information. The Conference will bring together
senior stakeholders from the Department of Health, patient groups,
health voluntary sector and industry to understand what patients
need in terms of medicines information and to explore how the
roll out of the information prescriptions and other initiatives
can lead to lasting partnerships delivering better information
about medicines.
Key speakers
confirmed include amongst others the Minister of State Rosie Winterton
MP, Adrian Sanders MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group
for Diabetes, Joanne Rule, Cancer backup, Joanne Shaw, Ask about
Medicines and Mark Duman, Patient Information Forum. Simon Crompton,
Medical Editor of the Times, will chair the event.
Please use
the attached booking
form to secure your place. If you have any further questions
please do not hesitate to contact me, Stacy Cosshall. |
Below
are highlights from the Department of Health WEBSITE
Providing health
and social care policy, guidance and publications
Getting
it right for people with cancer
Monday 14 May 2007
National Cancer Director, Professor Mike Richards, outlines how services
are being configured to meet the needs of cancer patients.
Report
Smokefree
England is on the way
Monday 14 May 2007
With less than 50 days before England goes smokefree, the Department
of Health launches an advertising campaign about the fast approaching
smokefree law.
News
story
Mental
health tsar publishes report
Friday 11 May 2007
Improving community care and breaking down the barriers that can prevent
people from rebuilding their lives are key to improving mental health
treatment explains Louis Appleby, National Director for Mental Health.
Breaking
down barriers - the clinical case for change
Media
Centre
DH press releases on the Government News Network (GNN) website.
Media
Centre
Modernising
Medical Careers (MMC)
Updates on MMC and the Medical Training Application Service (MTAS).
Modernising
Medical Careers (MMC)
What's
new publications
The latest DH publications, letters and circulars.
What's
new publications
Long
term conditions
A
key part of the Department's work is improving the quality of care for
the 15 million people in England living with a long term condition.
Long
term conditions
Below
are Highlights News and events from the Healthcare Commission
Patients
give vote of confidence in overall care provided by NHS hospitals in
largest national survey
Published:
May 16th 2007
Watchdog
urges fresh drive on dignity in care issues, in particular mixed-sex
accommodation, hospital food and help with eating
Published:
May 16th 2007
Patients have given
a vote of confidence in the overall care provided by NHS hospitals with
nine out of ten people surveyed by the Healthcare Commission rating
it as “excellent”, “very good” or “good”.
Just two per cent
of patients said the overall care they received in hospital was “poor”.
And compared with
the Commission’s previous inpatient survey in 2005, more people responded
positively to questions about cleanliness and efforts to control infection
through handwashing.
The results also
highlighted considerable variation in the performance of acute trusts
on a range of issues relating to dignity in care. These include the
standard of food, mixed-sex accommodation, answering calls for help,
and assistance with eating.
Survey highlights
include:
- there were encouraging
signs on cleanliness with 93% of patients saying their room or ward,
was “very clean” or “fairly clean”. This compares with 92% in the
2005 survey.
- more patients
said they waited six months or less for planned admissions, 84% in
this survey compared with 78% in 2005.
- of the patients
who indicated that they needed help eating, 20 per cent said they
did not get enough. Among trusts, these figures varied between 2%
and42%*.
- there were 30
trusts where one in five, or more, patients rated the food as “poor”.
But in most other trusts, few patients rated the food as “poor” –
just 2% in one trust.
- there was variation
in how trusts scored on single-sex accommodation. Looking at planned
admissions only and excluding those who stayed in critical care units,
11% of patients nationally said they shared a room or bay with a patient
of the opposite sex.
The findings are
from the Commission’s inpatient survey, the biggest test of the experiences
of patients in NHS hospitals in England. In autumn 2006, 80,000 patients
at 167 acute and specialist trusts responded to the survey, coordinated
on behalf of the Commission by the Picker Institute.
Anna Walker, Chief
Executive of the Healthcare Commission, said: “We all hear a lot of
negative comment about the NHS, but we must never forget that most patients
have consistently rated the overall quality of their care as good or
excellent. Staff should remember this as it shows that patients value
the good work they do.
“The results also suggest that we need a fresh drive to tackle a set
of issues related to treating patients with dignity. But, where there
are problems it seems as if there are a minority of trusts that are
letting the rest down.
“Patients have the
right to expect all hospitals to get the basics right, like offering
help with eating and answering calls for assistance. It is also clear
that for a significant minority of patients, the NHS is performing below
standards on segregated accommodation.
“Looking at waiting
times, trusts need to improve the patient’s journey through all parts
of the hospital, from arrival at A&E to discharge. For example,
too many patients still say they wait a long time while being admitted.
There may be scope to reduce this by looking at delays in admissions
units.”
The Commission will
feed the results of the inpatient survey into its annual assessment
of NHS trusts, which uses information to target inspections and ultimately
leads to an annual performance rating.
The independent
watchdog is also preparing a national report on dignity in care for
older people, to be published later in the year. As part of this, it
has inspected 23 trusts where performance data raised particular questions.
A detailed media
briefing accompanies this press release.
More
information about the national survey of adult inpatients
Notes
to editors
* The percentage figures showing variations between trusts are not adjusted
for age and gender.
Information
on the Healthcare Commission
The Healthcare Commission is the health watchdog in England. It keeps
check on health services to ensure that they are meeting standards in
a range of areas. The Commission also promotes improvements in the quality
of healthcare and public health in England through independent, authoritative,
patient-centred assessments of those who provide services.
Responsibility for
inspection and investigation of NHS bodies and the independent sector
in Wales rests with Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW). The Healthcare
Commission has certain statutory functions in Wales which include producing
an annual report on the state of healthcare in England and Wales, national
improvement reviews in England and Wales, and working with HIW to ensure
that relevant cross-border issues are managed effectively.
The Healthcare Commission
does not cover Scotland as it has its own body, NHS Quality Improvement
Scotland. The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) undertakes
regular reviews of the quality of services in Northern Ireland.
For further
information contact Megan Tudehope on 0207 448 0868, or on 07779 990845
after hours.
Events
Safety delivery
conference - June 26th 2007
Healthcare
Commission and NPSA conference on safety in maternity
Exhibitions
and speaking engagements
The Healthcare Commission will be exhibiting at the following exhibitions
during 2007:
Primary
Care 2007
May 10th–11th May 2007 NEC, Birmingham
Graduate Recruitment Fair
June 6th 2007, 11.00-15.30
East Midlands Conference Centre, Nottingham
Nottingham
Graduate Recruitment Fair
The Graduate
Recruitment Fair @ Manchester
June 13th 2007, 10.00-16.00 The Armitage Centre, Manchester
The
Graduate Recruitment Fair @ Manchester
London Graduate
Recruitment Fair – Summer 2007
Tue 19 Jun 2007, 11.00–17.00 Wed 20 Jun 2007, 11.00–17.00
Business Design Centre, Islington
London
Graduate Recruitment Fair – Summer 2007
NHS Confederation
annual exhibition and conference
June 20th-22nd 2007 ExCel, London
NHS Confederation 2007
BAMM Summer
School and AGM 2007
June 27th-29th 2007 Hilton Hotel, London Docklands
BAMM
Laing and
Buisson Independent Healthcare Convention
September 12th 2007 Hilton Park Lane, London
Independent
Healthcare Convention 2007
Royal College
of General Practitioners annual conference on primary care
October 4th-6th 2007 Edinburgh International Conference Centre
RCGP
annual conference
NICE annual
conference and exhibition
December 5th-6th 2007 MICC, Manchester
Commission
meetings
The Commission meets every one to two months, in public.
More
information about commission meetings
Contacting
Healthcare Commission
If you would like us to send a speaker to an event you are running please
e-mail details to us and we will contact you: feedback@healthcarecommission.org.uk
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