Website of the Department of Health

IT support for staff

GPs will be among the frontline NHS staff who will be taught to use new technology from the National Programme for IT (NPfIT) after the launch of a 'support academy'.

The academy, based in Leicester, will take its first students in mid-May, using realistic mock-ups of GP surgeries, and utilising actors as patients to introduce the new systems to clinicians.

With its mixture of realistic settings and one-on-one coaching it will introduce clinicians to the possibilities created by the proposed electronic patient and health records.

The courses will also deal with the issues of team working and sharing data as well as dealing with suppliers. 

Read more at

NPfIT update

The National Programme for IT (NPfIT) has issued its May Programme Update. This monthly update provides a briefing for stakeholders on the programme's progress, including the NHS Care Records Service, electronic booking, electronic transmission of prescriptions and the provision of an underpinning IT infrastructure.

Read the update  at

Reducing violence in the NHS

As part of a new strategy launched to help protect GPs, nurses and other NHS frontline staff from the ever-increasing threat of violence and abuse in the workplace, one-day courses in conflict resolution training are now available to all NHS frontline staff.

The course, which began in April 2004 at the new NHS SMS training centre in Coventry, is open to all NHS frontline staff and includes sessions on:

In 2002-2003 alone, 116,000 incidents of violence and aggression were reported - an increase of 4,000 on the previous year.

Developed by the NHS Security Management Service (NHS SMS), the strategy includes a number of practical steps to empower staff and give them the skills they need to control and defuse potentially violent situations.

In addition the NHS is piloting the latest mobile technology to protect lone workers in the NHS, for example, GPs on home visits.

Other areas covered in the strategy will ensure the security of property and assets; drugs, prescriptions and hazardous materials; maternity and paediatric units.

For further information on the conflict resolution training e-mail

• concflictresolution@cfsms.nhs.uk (opens new window)

More information at

• Counter Fraud and Security Management Service (CFSMS) (opens new window)

Emergency mental health care checklist

GPs' role in planning and providing care for patients with mental health problems who access emergency care services is highlighted in a new guide.

The Emergency Mental Health Care Checklist outlines areas for action and provides guidance for those working in emergency departments and mental health and ambulance trusts.

It is estimated up to 10 per cent of emergency departments' four-hour breaches involve patients with mental health problems. In addition, a third of patients with mental health problems wait longer than four hours, compared to 10 per cent of all patients.

The guide says addressing these issues can only be done through effective local partnerships between all health and social care agencies.

One example is the need to use all available information when making an initial assessment which could mean contacting the patient's GP.

The checklist was produced by representatives of professional bodies, including the Royal College of Physicians and Faculty of Accident and Emergency Medicine, and frontline staff.

See the guide at

• Improving the management of patients with mental ill health in emergency care settings

Emergency treatment at road traffic accidents

In certain circumstances GPs are entitled to recover a fee for treatment provided to people injured in road traffic accidents. There is growing evidence, however, that there is some confusion as to when and from whom the fee can be claimed.

GPs are entitled to collect a fee (known as the Emergency Treatment Fee) of £21.30 for each person to whom they provide treatment immediately following a road traffic accident. This might occur where a GP witnesses an accident, or arrives on the scene before the emergency services and provides treatment at the roadside. The fee cannot be claimed if the patient attends their GP's surgery after the accident even if it is later the same day.

Similarly, the fee is payable by the driver of the vehicle(s) involved in the accident even where they are not themselves injured or in need of treatment, not by the individual patient (unless they are also the driver). If the driver is unknown then the GP will not be able to recover a fee for providing treatment to the victim at the scene.

Any queries should go to Tracy Morton at the Department of Health on 0113 254 5380 or e-mail

• e-mail:  tmorton@doh.gsi.gov.uk (opens new window)

Clinical action cards to aid GPs

Clinical action cards have been issued to all GPs in England to help them recognise unusual symptoms.

They were developed after health professionals asked for more specific training to help them recognise symptoms caused by emerging diseases and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear hazards.

The cards have been issued by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) and do not reflect any increased threat to the public.

They were produced in close collaboration with GPs as part of a range of training materials being produced by the agency and are funded by the Department of Health and endorsed by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP).

British Medical Association general practitioners' committee chairman Dr John Chisholm said: 'We fully support the issue of this information and would like to see it extended to all UK GPs and accident and emergency staff in hospitals.

Doctors and their colleagues are at the frontline of detection and treatment. This timely information will help them save many lives should the unthinkable happen.'

Read more at

• Health Protection Agency (opens new window)

The incident decision tree - treating staff fairly

The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) has launched its incident decision tree.

In the NHS, system failures are often the reason for safety incidents and we should be looking at 'what' has happened not 'who' is to blame. Currently, when an incident occurs in the NHS, the most common response is to formally suspend the staff involved from duty and to initiate disciplinary procedures.

This can be unfair to employees, divert managers from identifying contributory system failures and reduce the provision of high-quality patient care.

The incident decision tree has been created to provide a framework to help determine the course of action to take with staff following a patient safety incident. The objective is to encourage a consistent and fair approach to staff issues across the NHS.

More information at

• National Patient Safety Agency (opens new window)

Commissioning toolkit

A new online toolkit for PCT commissioning has been launched by the National Primary and Care Trust Development Programme (NatPaCT).

The Commissioning Friend for PCTs is designed to provide a route map of the essential steps a PCT should take in developing and following a process to ensure the delivery of high quality, responsive and timely acute care.

As part of series of NatPaCT resources to support PCTs it focuses on the role of the PCT in whole systems commissioning of acute services, including specialist commissioning.

The Commissioning Friend maps out key issues facing PCTs, including:

Users can explore topics in each specific section in greater detail. It also provides key links to other helpful information such as resource guides, case studies and external websites.

See the NatPaCT site for more information

• The commissioning friend for PCTs (opens new window)

Celebrating best practice

A new award has been launched by the National Primary Care Development Team (NPDT) to celebrate best practice in primary care organisations.

The Guy Rotherham Award, is part of the Vision Awards organised by Doctor magazine. It has been set up in memory of Guy Rotherham deputy head of the NPDT, who dedicated his career to quality improvement in general practice, who died last year.

The £3,000 prize will be given to a GP practice that utilises Primary Care Collaborative improvement methods to improve the quality of service and outcomes for their patients in an area (or areas) of their choosing.

The deadline for entries is 12 June and the awards ceremony will be held on 8 July in London.

More information and an entry form can be found at

HR in primary care

The National Primary and Care Trust Development Programme (NatPaCT) is keen to receive examples of good HR practice and workforce planning from practices and PCTs.

They will help the NHS Modernisation Agency and the Department of Health in their work to develop a guide for practices and PCTs which highlights HR support issues.

Examples could include the help being given by trusts to practices as they gear up for the introduction of the new Agenda for Change pay system later this year.

Examples should be sent to

• helen.northall@doh.gsi.gov.uk (opens new window)

Headway helpline

A helpline offering support and information for survivors of brain injury and their families is available through Headway, the brain injury association.

The Headway helpline works alongside health and social care professionals and is a first point of contact for survivors and their families.

A dedicated team of helpline workers provides information on brain injury at any stage during the recovery process. This can include providing booklets about coma, coping strategies for the psychological and cognitive effects of brain injury or advice on driving and returning to work.

A UK network of Headway centres offer a wide range of community based activities and local groups provide an opportunity for survivors and their families to talk to someone in a similar situation.

The freephone Headway helpline is open 9am-5pm Monday to Friday on 0808 800 2244.