New NHS Scotland 'knowledge bank' launched

An online database that will allow NHS staff to share information has been unveiled by Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon.
The Knowledge Network will include a "Google-style" search engine with access to a huge bank of educational resources as well as personal space for employees to gather information.
The network will be managed by NHS Education for Scotland (NES).
It aims to save staff time and bring online resources together in one place. Click here to find out more!

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NHS Institute’s Patient Experience Learning Programme

The NHS Institute’s Patient Experience Learning Programme is now into it’s 5th month, and the Patient Experience Online Network has been launched to support the programme delegates and also those working to improve patient experience in the wider NHS.

The online network offers tools and techniques, the sharing of learning using case studies highlighting best practice, a forum for challenges and solutions and the opportunity to connect to other related networks.

This is phase one of the online network and the site will evolve in response to the needs of those who use it.

You can access the network HERE! and please contact patientexperience@institute.nhs.uk for further information.


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Health inequalities team publishes resource manual

The health inequalities national support team (HINST) has published a resource manual containing a range of information, resources and tools, including a series of 'how to' guides and 'masterclass' reports. The manual has been built around good practice identified from the visits undertaken so far, that are expected to make an impact on mortality in a short timescale if delivered at a sufficient scale. The manual can be downloaded from the DH website.

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FREE Improvement Tools

For the last three years, the Improvement Network has been offering free access to a suite of improvement tools to help support the needs of managers. These are accessible to public sector managers and practitioners across health, local government and police sectors. The tools cover a range of 16 topics including communication, change management and partnership working.
Register now for free access the Improvement Network's Improvement Tools

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Health Essentials: new free tools from the Improvement Network

NHS Institute partner, the Improvement Network has added new topics to its suite offree Improvement Tools to help support the needs of managers.
Health Essentials : for all health practitioners - find out more about continuous improvement in health, together with support for your personal development.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) : access information about how CSR can deliver business benefits to your organisation.
Knowledge Management : get support on how to effectively manage knowledge in your organisation to help it improve.
These links require users to register for free access, and the tools are currently accessed by approximately 12,000 public sector managers and practitioners across health, local government and police sectors.
Register now for free access the Improvement Network's Improvement Tools

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OncoAlert Launched

The NHS Institute has launched OncoAlert, a toolkit to help cancer professionals work with other hospital teams to streamline the pathway for patients who enter hospital via the emergency route.
Packaged as a CD-ROM with a variety of tools and templates that teams can use to make pathway improvements, OncoAlert was developed following an investigation into the pathway for sick patients with suspected cancer.
Read the Focus on: Sick Patients with Suspected Cancer report »
Order a copy of OncoAlert »

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Long-term conditions: information tool for commissioners

The main aim of the information tool is to share a common vision of good service for people with long-term conditions and to provide practical suggestions for commissioners to help them achieve that vision. Download the tool and read the accompanying letter from Gary Belfield.

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PALS in prison: a toolkit and good practice guidance for implementing Patient Advice and Liaison Services in a secure setting

Toolkit and good practice guidance covering the implementation of the Patient Advice and Liaison Service in a secure setting. It has been designed to be read by commissioners and providers of healthcare in the criminal or youth justice sectors.

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Passport: Guiding Your Journey to Exceptional Care

IHI invites you to join Passport, a new cost-effective membership program for hospitals. When your organization joins Passport, your whole staff gains easy access to the practical tools and ongoing expert support for frontline teams as they improve key processes outlined in the IHI Improvement Map, the new online planning tool. Learn more about Passport membership

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Your health, your way: a guide to long term conditions and self care - communications toolkit

This toolkit provides all of the assets and artwork to enable you to implement a communications campaign at a local level.
An introduction to Your health, your way (formally the patients prospectus) is included within this section of the toolkit. You can consult the toolkit guidelines for information and guidance on using these assets, as well as recommendations on how you can communicate Your health, your way across various media.
For further information visit NHS Networks’ website

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Process Mapping and Analysis for performance improvement A one-day workshop from Vanguard

This workshop provides comprehensive, straightforward guidance that takes the delegates step by step through how to define, map and analyse processes. It introduces delegates to simple practical and relevant tools that will help them to engage people and keep them focused on activity that will lead to improvements in efficiency and service to customers. Its being held on Thursday 10th September 2009 and Tuesday 6th October 2009 at Villiers Conference Centre, Buckingham. For further information and a booking form, please contact Maria at office@vanguardconsult.co.uk.

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Working with Older Prisoners

The Nacro and Department of Health Working with Older Prisoners pack was created so that peer support workers, disability liaison officers, older offender and wing officers could use its contents to implement good practice ideas and set up activities in their establishments for older prisoners. It is also intended to act as a useful reference on different organisations to encourage prison workers to contact other agencies for information and improve the quality of their information, advice and guidance service for older prisoners. The pack should also be used to raise awareness among colleagues of the health problems the older prisoner population is prone to and of some of the practical things they can do to make their lives easier.
Each pack consists of a Resource Pack full of information, a Workshop Pack, which will show readers how to run awareness sessions on the issues facing older prisoners and four identical resources and activities discs, packed full of leaflets from well known organisations who have an interest in this population. Click here for further information.

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Updated Primary Care Service Framework - Alcohol

This Framework is for adult patients who are drinking to hazardous and harmful or dependent levels. It has been updated to include recent policy changes and is supported by a range of enhanced tools to support implementation. A complementary suite of resources and supportive notes is also available. It provides examples of good practice around alcohol services in primary care and can be adapted and used as a basis for an enhanced service via a schedule within a local primary care contract or service level agreement.
In addition, the updated document supports the introduction of the new clinical directed enhanced service (DES) for alcohol, which started from April 2008 and will run for two years.
View the framework here!

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Community Therapists Network Annual Conference - 14th October 2009 Manchester.

Providing ‘Patient Centred Care’ continues to be a major objective for the Department of Health, measuring the effectiveness of the care has until recently focused on processes and clinical indicators. Now, this is set to change with the drive to monitor patient outcomes. To reflect this welcome development the Community Therapists Network invites you to learn more about the existing tools that you can access, the experience with those tools and the actual outcomes that patients desire! Click here to find out more and to book your place!

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Process Mapping and Analysis for Performance Improvement - One Day Workshop.

This one day workshop by Vanguard provides comprehensive, straightforward guidance that takes the delegates step by step through how to define, map and analyse processes. It introduces delegates to simple practical and relevant tools that will help them to engage people and keep them focused on activity that will lead to improvements in efficiency and service to customers. The workshop is being held on 11th June and 16th July 2009. For further information and a booking form, please contact Maria at office@vanguardconsult.co.uk

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Putting Patient Safety First: Global Trigger Tool for Paediatric Care

Putting Patient Safety First: Global Trigger Tool for Paediatric Care is a one day conference on Monday 1st of June where you can to hear more about the development of this powerful tool to identify and measure avoidable harm in paediatric services within secondary care.
This event will be run by the NHS Institute Safer Care Team with contributions and learning from a wide range of district general hospitals and tertiary care centres across NHS England.
For further information or to register on-line click here
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Radiology Kit Launched

The NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement have launched a kit designed to help radiology departments review and assess their booking processes and identify areas for improvement for the benefit of patients and staff.
Developed in co-production with radiology departments and front line NHS staff Transforming your Radiology Services Kit: Focus on Booking Processes will, help staff rapidly understand current booking processes between modalities, stimulate discussion about the strengths and weaknesses, highlight any differences in perception between staff groups and patients, question current practices, help identify areas for improvement and provide solutions and tools for these improvements. For further information click here.
Two copies of the kit will be sent to every NHS trust in England. To support the launch the NHS Institute will be holding a one day event on Tuesday 12 May in London (10am-3pm). To attend please email radiologykit@institute.nhs.uk.

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Commissioning for Health Improvement

The NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement aims to help PCTs and SHAs
achieve the Department of Health’s vision for world class commissioning. If you are trying to become a world class commissioner then their range of proven tools and resources will help you.
Tools available include:
Change Readiness Tool - This tool directly strengthens PCTs’ potential for improvement, as measured through the assurance process.
Commissioning Patient Pathways Guide - Detailed guidance on how key design issues (like patient outcomes, demand and capacity etc) should be addressed throughout the commissioning cycle.
Project Delivery for Commissioners - Covering the whole range of activities from setting up
the project team to business as usual.
Strategy Development and Implementation - A literature review covering: the different approaches to developing strategy, how these approaches can be applied, and how the resulting strategy can be implemented.
Further information can be found here!

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Surgical Safety Checklist

The target in England is for introduction of the surgical safety checklist by Feb 2010. For those of you who can't wait, then how about joining in the Sprint. All the tools you need, including a starter Kit can be found here . To support the introduction of this life-saving checklist in England, Sarah Fraser will be available for virtual support anywhere in the world using conference calls and video. If youwould like some support in implementing the checklist please email Sarah.

This is a short 6 minute video demonstrating the use of the new WHO Surgical Safety Checklist from Great Ormond Street Hospital. You can see the WHO version by clikcing here. There is also a version from Torontohtt and a version on how NOT to perform the safe surgery checklist!

Web-based program from IHI: Using the IHI Global Trigger Tool for Measuring Patient Safety

IHI is pleased to introduce a new web-based program that will teach organizations how to use the IHI Global Trigger Tool to help them measure instances of harm often missed using traditional methods of reporting and tracking errors. The Web&ACTION, titled Using the IHI Global Trigger Tool for Measuring Patient Safety, is designed for teams of reviewers who will use the IHI Global Trigger Tool to identify patient harm and use the results gleaned from the tool to measure the effectiveness of safety improvements. The program also includes six additional telephone calls designed, in combination with the three webinars, to guide the beginner IHI Global Trigger Tool user into a sophisticated user able to create a system of tracking harm and improvement within their organization.