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Week of 6th October
A list of forthcoming APHG events. Contents:Major DevelopmentsLinks to information on recent major developments. The Week Ahead Upcoming business in Westminster. This Past Week Links to the business of both houses that has taken place over the last week. Including Ministerial and Prime Ministers Questions, debates in both houses and in Westminster Hall, links to written statements and answers and details of other Parliamentary bodies. DH, NHS and other agencies Links to the main news from the Department of Health and the NHS, the Healthcare Commission, Monitor and other relevant bodies. Including topical health issues, links and recent publications. APHG and Website Information from the APHG including: News on forthcoming events, links to our own site, and access to constituency health data. Useful Links Links to other health pages. |
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 Major Developments (2nd – 6th October)
Healthcare Commission to unveil annual health check results The Healthcare Commission will this week unveil the results of the most comprehensive assessment of NHS performance ever carried out, the new annual health check. Click here to read more.
Sir Ian Kennedy, Chairman of the Healthcare Commission, will be explaining the new health check and what it means for the NHS at an APHG briefing on Thursday 19th October. Click here to find out more.
Government issues advice to GPs on Flu jab supply Those people thought to be most at risk from complications after seasonal flu should receive their flu jabs this year. This is despite earlier warnings about possible Europe-wide delays to deliveries of influenza vaccine. Click here to read more.
£17.5m investment for cancer research Cancer research is set to benefit from £17.5m that will fund 13 Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres across England. The Government investment is part of a £35 million package that includes money from Cancer Research UK and the Departments of Health in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Click here to read more.
Conservative party conference The Conservative party conference took place last week in Eastbourne. Click here to read more. back to top The Week Ahead (9th – 13th October)
Monday 9th October House of Lords: The Baroness Sharples — To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to test immigrants for tuberculosis.
House of Lords: Mental Capacity Act 2005 (Independent Mental Capacity Advocates) (Expansion of Role) Regulations 2006 — The Lord Warner to move, That the draft Regulations laid before the House on 13th July be approved.
House of Lords: Smoking (Northern Ireland) Order 2006—The Lord Rooker to move, That the draft Order laid before the House on 4th July be approved.
Tuesday 10th October House of Commons: At the end of the sitting: Adjournment: Helen Jones: Supporting carers to work flexibly.
Westminster Hall: Subject proposed to be raised on the Motion for the Adjournment: Ann Cryer: Benefits advice for cancer patients.
Westminster Hall: Subject proposed to be raised on the Motion for the Adjournment: John Mann: Hearing loss claims in the coal industry.
Wednesday 11th October House of Lords: National Health Service Bill [HL] - Third Reading [The Lord Falconer of Thoroton] (Consolidation)
House of Lords: National Health Service (Wales) Bill [HL] - Third Reading [The Lord Falconer of Thoroton] (Consolidation)
House of Lords: National Health Service (Consequential Provisions) Bill [HL] - Third Reading [The Lord Falconer of Thoroton]
House of Commons: Public Accounts Committee: Smarter food procurement in the public sector: To give evidence: Ms Helen Williams, Department for Education and Skills; Mr Rob Knott, NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency; and Colonel Duncan Robertson, Defence Food Service.
Thursday 12th October House of Commons: At the end of the sitting: Adjournment: Sadiq Khan: Neonatal care. back to top NATIONAL AUDIT OFFICE
The National Audit Office scrutinises public spending on behalf of Parliament. It reports to the Public Accounts Committee and is totally independent of government. The role of the NAO is to audit the accounts of all central government departments, agencies, and other public bodies, reporting to Parliament on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which they have used public money.
Wednesday 4th October Department of Health RIA Evaluation 2006-07 Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIAs) have been used to assess the impact of proposed regulation since 1998. It is a requirement that an RIA is completed for all policy changes (including formal legislation, codes of practice or information campaigns) which may affect the public, private or third sectors.
The NAO have examined a sample of RIAs for past three years and have reported their findings in an annual Compendium Report. This year they are expanding the scope of their study to examine the extent to which Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIAs) are integrated into the policy process. They will examine whether the RIA process is effectively challenging the need for new regulation and/or improving the quality of regulation which is introduced. Click here to read more back to top Department of Health and National Health Service
Key issues from the Department of Health and NHS
Government issues advice to GPs on Flu jab supply All those people thought to be most at risk from complications after seasonal flu should receive their flu jabs this year as supplies come on stream, the Government's Head of Immunisation has confirmed. This assurance follows an alert from the UK Vaccine Industry Group (UVIG) in June about possible Europe-wide delays to deliveries of influenza vaccine, or even shortages, due to problems growing one of the vaccine's virus strains. These problems have since been overcome by the vaccine manufacturers, and UVIG has confirmed that suppliers will be able to fulfil GPs' requirements. Click here to read more
Wednesday 4th October Discussion document on urgent care published Health Minister Lord Warner has launched a new discussion document asking how urgent care services can be improved in the future to deliver a better patient experience. The document - Direction of Travel for Urgent Care: a discussion document - is seeking the views of staff and service users on how urgent care services, such as GP practices, NHS Walk-in Centres, and ambulance services, can best work together to create services that respond more effectively to local patients' needs. Click here to read more
Thursday 5th October NHS congratulated on progress on cancer waits In his new report 'Waiting times for cancer: progress, lessons learned and next steps', Professor Mike Richards, the National Cancer Director, claims that the NHS has made excellent progress on reducing cancer waiting times. Looking at how the NHS has made progress towards achieving the 31 and 62 day targets, Professor Richards has highlighted the commitment of NHS staff and Trusts. Click here to read more
Monday 9th October £17.5m investment for cancer research Cancer research is set to benefit from £17.5m that will fund 13 Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres across England. The Government investment is part of a £35 million package that includes money from Cancer Research UK and the Departments of Health in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. The new Centres will focus on investigating whether and how the latest discoveries and cancer treatments work when tested with patients so they can be developed for use in the NHS as quickly as possible. Click here to read more
Independent Regulators
The Healthcare Commission and Monitor are independent bodies responsible to Parliament for regulating different elements of health care provision. See below for details of the key issues from both:
Key issues from the Healthcare Commission
Wednesday 4th October Healthcare watchdog launches NHS Staff Survey The Healthcare Commission is launching the NHS Staff Survey for 2006, giving staff a chance to have their voices heard about what it is like working in the NHS. Staff views given in the survey are used by the Healthcare Commission, the Department of Health and NHS Trusts to inform local and national changes in working conditions and practices. Click here to read more
Friday 6th October Commission calls for fresh drive on admissions management after success in reducing delays in A&E The Healthcare Commission has called on the NHS to step up efforts to improve the management of admissions to hospital. It is publishing a national report on admissions management alongside comparative assessments of 153 acute hospital trusts across England. The report applauds trusts for delivering a series of significant improvements over the past three years. It highlights fewer delays in A&E departments and reduced lengths of stay for people admitted for surgical procedures from the waiting list. But the report also suggests that trusts could improve further, delivering better value for money and improving the overall patient experience. Examples include tackling delays further into patients’ hospital stays and giving patients admitted from the waiting list more choice over admission dates. Click here to read more
Monday 9th October Healthcare watchdog to unveil most comprehensive assessment of NHS performance The Healthcare Commission will this week unveil the results of the most comprehensive assessment of NHS performance ever carried out. The independent healthcare watchdog is responsible for assessing and reporting on the performance of healthcare organisations on an annual basis. For NHS trusts, this involves issuing an annual performance rating for all NHS trusts in England. Over the past four years NHS organisations have been given star ratings, which were based on performance against key targets set by the government. But now, for the first time, the NHS will be assessed against the annual health check, a more comprehensive and therefore tougher system of assessing performance. Click here to read more
Key issues from Monitor
There was no news from Monitor this week. back to top
PARTY CONFERENCE SPECIAL
Cameron wants ‘independent’ NHS David Cameron says he wants to take the running of the NHS out of the hands of politicians and make health service workers more accountable. The Conservative leader has called on Tony Blair to back his plans for an independent NHS, saying it should not be treated like a "political football". He says a Tory government would ensure a rise in NHS spending, but argues that a "new direction" is needed. Mr Cameron says he plans to publish an NHS Independence Bill in the New Year.
NHS safe in my hands says Cameron David Cameron said the NHS is safe in his hands as he brought the annual Conservative conference to an end. He accused Labour of mismanaging the health service and said he would be taking to the streets with a campaign to stop the cuts.
Mr Cameron called the NHS one of the 20th Century's greatest achievements and "a symbol of collective will, of social solidarity." He promised "no more pointless and disruptive reorganisations". Instead, change would be "driven by the wishes and needs of NHS professionals and patients".
Pledge for more nurses Every school would have a school nurse under the Conservatives, Andrew Lansley told the party conference. In his keynote address he pledged that the needs of children would be placed at the top of his in-tray should he become health secretary. And he vowed to improve maternity care and check the decline in the number of health visitors and district nurses. And each school would have a nurse ‘who supports a curriculum that incorporates healthy diet and lifestyle and provides advice on a one-to-one basis’.
Practice Based Commissioning is not enough - Lansley GPs would be handed direct responsibility to manage demand under a Conservative government because the party does not believe primary care trusts are up to the task. Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley told a fringe session at the party’s conference in Bournemouth that too many PCT managers were weak on ‘leadership and innovation’. He said he would like to see practice-based commissioning extended to give GPs real budgets and the ability to draw up their own contracts - a return to some of the major elements of GP fundholding.
He also indicated he would go further than Labour in giving the private sector the right to supply and give foundation trusts freedoms he said had been denied by chancellor Gordon Brown. Mr Lansley said he wanted to see the creation of an incentive structure for hospitals, similar to the quality and outcomes framework, to ensure that providers spent their money more effectively. But he promised there would be no organisational upheaval if his party came to power.
Tories will not rule out increased NHS spend Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley has hinted that a Conservative government could spend more on the NHS than a Labour government under Gordon Brown. He said higher health spending - especially on public health - could also help improve the nation’s economy. Mr Lansley reminded delegates that Labour planned to slow the rise in health spending from 2008. But he said this might change under the Conservatives.
He said richer countries tended to spend more as a proportion of GDP on health: and the US had not suffered for spending more than the UK. He also reiterated his party’s support for a tax-funded NHS rather than a social insurance system.
Boris Johnson criticises Jamie Oliver's school dinners campaign. The Conservative frontbencher has reportedly said the pressure on children to eat healthy food was "too much". On Sunday, Tory leader David Cameron heaped praise on Mr Oliver's crusade to make school dinners more nutritious. But it was reported that Mr Johnson had taken a swipe at Mr Oliver's school dinners campaign, and stood up for mothers who helped their children avoid healthier options. "I say let people eat what they like. Why shouldn't they push pies through the railings?," he said.APHG and Website
Forthcoming Meetings
Thursday 19th October
APHG BRIEFING: THE HEALTHCARE COMMISSION – AN UPDATE
Speaker: Sir Ian Kennedy, Chair, Healthcare Commission Chair: Dr Howard Stoate MP
Sir Ian Kennedy will talk to the group about what the future holds for the Healthcare Commission. He will be focusing on the new ‘annual health check’ which has been brought in to replace the current ‘star ratings’ system as a means of assessing the performance of NHS trusts. Sir Ian will also be discussing the Healthcare Commission’s cardiac surgery performance website and the Commission’s planned merger with the Commission for Social Care Inspection, which aims to further bring together social and health care services.
New Constituency Data Website
An excellent new research tool is available free of charge to parliamentarians, APHG advisors and APHG associate members. The APHG website now allows you to review, in detail, health care services in each constituency and to compare health service performance with other constituencies.
The site also allows parliamentarians to receive a health needs mapping report for their constituency, allowing them to better understand the health needs of their constituents.
Visit the site at:
http://www.healthinparliament.org.uk/constituencies.html
For your personalised password to access the site, please contact the APHG secretariat on 0207 202 9418 or email neil.mainprize@healthinparliament.org.uk.
Website Links
To access our own site, containing
information on past and present meetings and access to constituency health
data,
click here.
Useful Links
The National Health Service Website. Contains details of local NHS services and information on how the NHS works.
The Healthcare Commission’s website.
Includes information on their role, plus details of reports & investigations
that they have carried out. Information and links on health issues, including self-help and in depth information on various topics such as breast cancer, depression and diabetes.
Source of information on UK health services, including NHS and Private Healthcare available by area, and comparisons across the UK.
Monitor-Independent Regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts Monitor’s website includes
information on its role, the makeup of its Board and Management Team, the
Public Register of NHS Foundation Trusts and its latest press releases. |
