Consultation on opening up choice of GP practice

A public consultation looking at how to give patients a greater choice over which GP practice they can register with has been launched by health secretary Andy Burnham. The consultation is seeking views on the various options for enabling patients to register with the GP practice that best meets their needs, whether that is a practice near their work, near their child's school or simply a different practice near their home that offers more services or longer opening hours. It also sets out the potential implications for their care when patients opt to register a long way from where they live.
The consultation is looking for responses from a wide range of stakeholders, including GPs, PCTs and patients, and will run until the end of May 2010.

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New Horizons: towards a shared vision for mental health

This consultation sets out to take mental health care to a new level, by improving prevention of mental illness and supporting the local development of higher quality, more personalised services.

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Improving Access to Psychological Therapies - Consultation

The Improving Access to Psycological Therapies (IAPT) programme is currently working with the Information Standards Board (ISB) to develop a national information standard for Improving Access to Psychological Therapies. You views are sought on the following Consultation themes
The current data set , the questions which could be considered are:
Does the data set offer the level of guidance and explanation required for its implementation ? Are there any Data set omissions? Data collection processes, as well as general comments. For further information and to take part in the consultation please click here!

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Promoting the Health and Wellbeing of Looked After Children - Consultation on revised statutory guidance

This guidance is a revised version of the existing guidance, 'Promoting the Health of Looked After Children', which was published by the Department of Health in 2002. The revised guidance will be statutory on PCTs and on Strategic Health Authorities as well as local authorities. The consultation closes on 3rd August 2009. Click here for further information.

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Active Medicine - A case study

Active Medicine was designed to educate and support patients, inform healthcare professionals
and act as a shared care resource during consultations.
The technology behind the project was developed by Dr Howard Last and Dr Stewart Manning after GPs at Oakley Medical practice noticed poor asthma technique in the local area. Many patients failed to turn up for appointments and communication between different healthcare professionals was in need of improvement.The software provides inhaler videos and information about asthma for the patient, while the healthcare professional has access to guidelines and the patient’s previous notes and actions. This helps generate a personalised action plan for the patient who can then access this again, online.
Click here for more information. *
Acitve Medicine & Oakley Medical Practice has been shortlisted for the Health & Social Care Awards and a short film will be produced for the ceremony taking place on 28th May 2009 at Sheffield City Hall.

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Valuing people now: a new three-year strategy for people with learning disabilities

DH has launched this cross-government strategy for the next three years, which takes account of the responses to the consultation which ended in March 2008. In particular, this strategy:
addresses what people have told us about the support people with learning disabilities and their families need, reflects the changing priorities across Government which impact directly on people with learning disabilities, sets out the Government’s response to the ten main recommendations in , Healthcare for All, the report of the independent inquiry into access to healthcare for people with learning disabilities, chaired by Sir Jonathan Michael and provides a further response to the Joint Committee on Human Rights report A Life Like Any Other? Click here for further information.

The Self Care Operating Framework

The draft Self Care Operating Framework is out for consultation and any feedback that people may have in taking it forward and implementing is welcomed. Please send comments to Judy Carrivick in the first instance. The Self Care Operating Framework offers a way of ensuring that staff within the PCT and in partner agencies, provide the maximum impact in supporting people to be self-caring. It is also about ensuring that patients, carers and users of health services are fully supported to become self-caring. Self Care is part of daily living – all of us are responsible for our own health and well being. Self care is about making changes to the behaviours which impact on an individual’s health status and about supporting individuals to look after themselves in terms of managing their long term conditions and making the most of their lives. Self Care is a key element in a number of major documents, including the Darzi Review, it’s local counterpart – Health Ambitions, The NHS Operating Framework, Leeds PCT Strategy and a range of other policies, guidance etc.

National QOF Consultations Get Underway

The first of the national QOF consultations organised by NHS PCC on behalf of the Department of Health took place in London this week. Dr David Colin-Thomé, national director for primary care opened the proceedings with a confident assessment of the future development of the QOF as NICE prepares to take on the role of developing clinical indicators to increase the framework's effectiveness in improving health outcomes. Presentations from the event are available here. A full report on this and the event taking place this week in Leeds will be available in the next issue of the PCC Newsletter.

Effective Care - Effective Communication: Living and Dying with COPD DVD

Effective Care - Effective Communication: Living and Dying with COPD is an educational package from IMPRESS consisting of a DVD and a CD of PowerPoint slides. The DVD comprises short film clips of patients' and carers' stories and views on diagnosis and end of life dialogue and an 'expert panel' discussion on ways to approach these issues with tips on how to improve the consultation. The CD also draws out the key learning points, references and links to the latest evidence and publications and consultation on the COPD Clinical Strategy. Click here for further information and to order a copy.

Safeguarding Adults: A Consultation on the Review of the ‘No Secrets’ Guidance

The Department of Health, the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice have launched the national consultation on the review of the No Secrets guidance.

The consultation is for everyone - it has questions for social workers, and housing officers, for police officers and for lawyers. It has questions for members of the public and for service users.

Click here for further information.

White Paper Consultation - Proposals for Legislative Change

The DH has recently published a consultation paper, on the future of pharmacy in England. NHS Employers will be drafting a joint response to the consultation with the NHS Confederation's PCT
Network and would be interested to hear your views on the proposals, in particular to the possible reforms regarding dispensing doctors.

For further information please click here

Patient Information Consultation Begins

Connecting for Health has launched a consultation on the use of patient information. It wants the public and health professionals to give their views on the use of patient information for purposes such as health research and managing and planning care. The consultation closes on 10 December. Visit www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk for more details.