Department of Health

Website of the Department of Health

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

You are here:

the week: Issue 40, 4 - 10  April 2008

  • Last modified date:
    18 April 2008
  • Series number:
    40

Published every Thursday, the week provides need-to-know news, consultations and events for chief executives and their teams. It provides links to more information and resources, highlighting areas for action.

Select a section

On the agenda

Winter warmth for NHS - Report says service coped well

The National Director for Emergency Access and the National Director for Primary Care have published their annual report on winter performance. The winter report 2007/08 describes how the NHS has once again coped well. During the winter period, NHS Direct answered over 1.6 million calls and provided information to over nine million people through its website. Health Minister Ben Bradshaw says the success is thanks to the hard work and commitment of staff along with record levels of investment into the NHS

Annual staff survey results - Clear improvements identified

The results from the 2007 survey of NHS staff provide an overall positive picture of employment in the NHS with some clear improvements since 2006 survey. It found that staff were generally satisfied with their jobs and identified high levels of access to training, learning and development, appraisals, strong support from line managers, and access to flexible working opportunities. It found encouraging improvements in responses around the promotion of good hygiene, infection control and the reporting of errors.

The survey identified the need for action on levels of violence, harassment and bullying against staff and these issues are being vigorously addressed locally and nationally.

Pension scheme modernisation - Increased flexibility on offer

Major changes to the NHS Pension scheme were introduced on 1 April 2008 and chief executives are encouraged to make sure their staff have full information. One of the key messages includes using the strategic benefits of the scheme to not only support general recruitment and retention but also offer significantly increased flexibility to staff as they plan for retirement. Take-home pay could be affected at a time when income tax rates are changing and this may result in additional queries for local payroll departments.

Comprehensive guidance material is available from:

Policy news

No news this week

Consultations and evaluations

1. Private and voluntary healthcare regulation (Gateway reference number: 8565)

A Department of Health (DH) consultation on de-regulating the non-surgical use of Class 3B and 4 lasers, intense pulsed light equipment, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Type 3, and removing IVF treatment from the Healthcare Commission’s regulatory remit is running until 10 June 2008.

Action: Chief executives are asked to give their views on these proposed changes.

2. New Children's Trusts guidance (Gateway reference number: 9746) 

This new guidance on the duty to co-operate reflects the thrust of the Children’s Plan to develop greater cultural change within children’s trusts, so they better understand and increase focus on children’s needs. The guidance will also help key stakeholders and service providers, including, PCTs, SHAs, and others become more active partners in children's trusts.

Action: This is a chance to help improve children’s trusts, with a deadline for comments of 26 June 2008.

Publications

3. Fees for employment checks (Gateway reference number: 9729)

Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) checks will start from October 2009. NHS and social care staff who work with children or vulnerable adults will have to be checked prior to employment. The cost will be £64 which includes £36 for a CRB check and £28 for an ISA check.

Action: Now the start date is known trusts and local authorities should prepare for the scheme’s implementation.

4. Referral to Treat indicators (Gateway reference number: 9745)

New indicators derived from existing specialty level RTT data have been published on NHS Choices.

Action: Any inaccuracies in the data should be reported through the ‘contact us’ section of NHS Choices.

5. Climate change health guidance (Gateway reference number: 9603)

Two months after the Department of Health (DH) launched its climate change report with the Health Protection Agency, guidance documents for the healthcare sector are now available.

Action: There are financial savings and health benefits to be gained from climate change policies. Hard copies of both report and guidance documents can be obtained from:

6. NHS Choices’ vision (Gateway reference number: 9432)

NHS Choices is the primary public information service for the NHS. The attached document describes how, as an integral part of the health and social care system, it will drive improvements in healthcare and utilise technologies to reshape the way people engage with their own health, each other and the NHS.

Action: This vision document provides a key opportunity to feed back on the future of NHS Choices.

Conferences and events - i) what’s new

7. Support for 18 week actions (Gateway reference number: 9753)

These Secondary Uses Service (SUS) events will demonstrate how to use this application to analyse and report on closed Referral to Treatment (RTT) Time periods and to identify the duration and progress of patient’s RTT pathways.

Action: You can nominate relevant staff to attend these events.

Conferences and events - ii) places still available

No news this week

Patient safety alerts

No news this week

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.

Access keys