Voicepiece
Chief health professions officer Kay East talks about hygiene, sexual health and new national standards.
If you listen to the radio or watch television, you will have identified already that my voicepiece this month will be about washing hands, sexual health and the recently published National Standards, Local Action document.
I know that AHPs were not named, in particular, in Towards Cleaner Hospitals and Lower Rates of Infection, but you are all health workers.
AHPs do work across organisations and services so, yes, being concerned about cleanliness is a part of delivering health care. I know that many of you are doing a great deal to improve the care you provide for your patients so it is our business to make sure that patients receive the highest standards of care.
The news on sexually transmitted diseases is very worrying especially the sharp increases in the numbers of people with chlamydia. AHPs work with people of all ages; it is often the case that in an intimate care setting people raise their most personal concerns. It is important that AHPs are well informed and know what advice to give.
Another key document, National Standards, Local Action: Health and Social Care Standards and Planning Framework 2005/06-2007/08, was also published last week. This sets out a standard-based planning framework for health and social care and contains the standards for NHS health care which will be used in planning, commissioning and delivering services. It covers the core and development standards covering NHS health care together with the health and social care planning framework and targets for 2005-2008.
It is a document which will help you plan your services locally as it empasises local actions, local ambition and local innovation. AHPs and other members of the health care team can get involved in these agendas. In fact, they need to as it is about focusing on health and wellbeing across the whole system of care, giving individuals power to improve their care, improving quality and equality and making sure that services meet the needs of children as well as adults. This information is central to all of us as we seek to review and change the way we work so that we can deliver better care for patients.
It was great to see so many AHPs invoved in NHS Live and the Health and Social Care Awards - many of the winning teams had AHPs involved in the services they were delivering but it was particulary encouraging to hear about the work of the four shortlisted AHPs and to meet the winner Sue Curtis.
Kay East
