Department of Health

Website of the Department of Health

Please note that this website has a UK government access keys system.

Chief executive bulletin: Issue 333, 25 – 31 August 2006

  • Last modified date:
    6 November 2007

This Bulletin alerts chief executives to publications, circulars and announcements from the Department of Health. It is e-mailed to NHS and Council chief executives and directors of social services.

Select a section

Policy news

1. New Director General of Workforce for the NHS appointed (Gateway reference number: 7064)

Clare Chapman, currently the Group Personnel Director of Tesco, will take up the post at the Department of Health from the beginning of 2007. Clare has more than 20 years experience working in personnel where she has championed talent development, staff engagement and the sharing of best practice. Further details at:

Consultations and evaluations

2. Commissioning a Patient-led NHS

Publications

No news this week

Conferences and Events – i) what’s new

3. Guidance on data sets to support commissioning (Gateway reference number: 7053)

This guidance covers the actions that Trusts and PCTs should take to ensure datasets are correctly addressed following PCT reconfiguration in October 2006; to prepare for the closure of the NHS-Wide Clearing Service (NWCS) in December 2006; and adopt e-government standards for data flows. See

Conferences and Events – ii) places still available

4. Use of mobile phones in hospitals and other NHS premises (Gateway reference number: 7018)

Guidance has been issued by MHRA and they do not recommend a ‘blanket ban’. However, DH has issued additional guidance which recommends taking account of other considerations for the patient environment, especially as many phones incorporate cameras, videos and sound recording. See:

Patient safety alerts

5. Reducing MRSA - increasing quality and productivity (Gateway reference number: 7061)

DH is working closely with the NHS Confederation, running a series of presentations on ‘Increasing productivity, efficiency and reducing MRSA’. The sessions are for CEs and their teams working towards a 50% reduction of MRSA by 2008. Attendees will hear how improving quality and safety will help deliver MRSA improvement. To book see:

Additional links

Ordering publications

Contact details for obtaining hard-copy DH publications.

Help viewing PDFs

Help viewing PDFs

Useful tips to ensure you get the most from PDFs and the free Reader program. Topics covered include accessibility, troubleshooting and searching files.

Search bulletins:

Access keys