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30 June - 6 July 2007
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A Weekly Bulletin of Professional News, Guidance and Policy for Primary Care
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Word Version
Headlines...
- New RCGP Membership Package for Trainees
- DH Review of NHS Care Over the Next
Decade
- Planning and Design Guidance for Primary Care
Premises
- Analysis of Medication Incidents and Patient
Safety in the NHS
Guidance featured in Seven Days is uploaded weekly to the
RCGP Non-Clinical Guidance Database for General Practice.
Professional
News
New RCGP Membership Package for Trainees
The RCGP has issued details of a
new membership package, available to GP trainees from August 2007.
Individuals who join the College as Associates in Training (AiTs) –
a new membership category – will gain access to a wide range of
RCGP resources, to help them through the GP Specialty Training
Programme. They will be able to choose from one of four AiT
packages, three which correspond to the level at which CCT
applicants enter the training programme – year one (ST1), year two
(ST2) or year three (ST3) – and one aimed at doctors applying for
certification under Article 11. All the AiT packages will
include:
- Access to the e-Portfolio (a
web-based learning log, where doctors can record the evidence
needed for the Workplace-Based Assessment (WPBA) part of the
nMRCGP)
- A 10% discount on the Applied
Knowledge Test / Clinical Skills Assessment (AKT/CSA) components of
the new exam
- Certification services (excluding
those applying under article 11)
- Subscription to a new journal for
GP trainees based on the GP curriculum.
- Subscription to the British
Journal of General Practice (BJGP)
For further information and advice
please contact the AiT hotline on 0207 344 307 or email ait@rcgp.org.uk.
NHS Care Over the Next
Decade
The Government has announced
a review of the NHS, aimed at identifying how the service can
meet the challenges that lie ahead. The new Parliamentary Under
Secretary of State for Health, Professor Ara Darzi, will lead the
investigation and report findings before July 2008. The key areas
for consideration include the involvement of NHS staff to ensure
that clinical decision-making is at the heart of the service;
improving patient care though joined-up services for those
suffering long-term or life-threatening conditions; and delivering
more accessible, convenient care, integrated across primary and
secondary providers. Following the review, the Government will
consider the case for a new NHS Constitution.
Applicants Sought for
General Practice Research Award
The RCGP’s Scientific Foundation
Board (SFB) is seeking applicants for its research awards, offered
to those undertaking research projects on the care of patients in
the general practice setting. The Board recently partnered with
Heart
Research UK and Roche Products
Limited, and is particularly keen to support work
in the field of cardiovascular disease; Chronic Kidney Disease
(CKD); the management of obesity; and Osteoporosis. The closing
date for the latest round of submissions is 31 July 2007. Grants
awarded will not exceed £10,000.
Application Form (RCGP Website)
Prizes for Innovation in
General Practice
The College offers a variety of
awards to recognise and encourage innovation in general practice,
and is now seeking applicants for the following prizes:
- Patient Participation
Award: recognises work in the development of patient
participation in general practice in the UK. Submissions are
accepted from any member of the practice team, patient group, or
patient of a practice. The prize – up to the value of £3,000 - is
to be used to benefit the patients of a practice or to further
patient participation. The closing date for entries is 31 July
2007.
- GP Registrar Awards:
offered for original and innovative work undertaken during the
course of specialty training in the UK. Prizes range between £400
and £1,000 and are available annually for high quality work. The
closing date for entries is 31 July 2007.
- Paul Freeling Award:
recognises GP educationalists who have developed new methods or
‘gone the extra mile’ to deliver high quality personal teaching to
young doctors preparing for careers in general practice. The annual
prize of up to £1,000 is open to Members or Fellows of the College
in good standing. The closing date for entries is 31 August
2007.
RCGP
Awards (RCGP Website)
Guidance
Planning and Design
Guidance for Primary Care Premises
A new resource to help individuals
involved in the planning, briefing and design of primary care
premises has been created by NHS Estates. The website identifies
the key considerations and actions that should be taken into
account when building, and gives some guidelines on funding,
procurement and design. The information is organised under the
following headings: understand the national policy framework;
prepare your Strategic Service Development Plan (SSDP); organise
your procurement plan; develop your project brief; and establish
your detailed design brief. The website replaces preceding
information including the ‘HBN 36 - Local healthcare facilities'
document and the 'SFA (Red Book)’.
Primary and Social Care Premises: planning and design
guidance (NHS Estates Website)
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Clinical
Announcements
College Response to
Dementia Report
A review of dementia services in
England has been published by the National Audit Office (NAO),
highlighting that the illness has not been given the priority
status it deserves within the NHS and the DH. It reports that early
identification and intervention are known to be cost-effective, yet
between 33-50% of patients never receive a formal diagnosis. Two
thirds of the GPs surveyed for the report felt it was important to
look for early symptoms of dementia but only 31% felt they had
enough training to diagnose and manage the disease. The document
made a number of recommendations including the need to improve the
management of services and support in the community. It also called
on the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the RCGP to take the lead
in developing a multi-professional protocol for diagnosis and early
intervention of suspected dementia.
Improving Services and Support for People with
Dementia (National Audit Office)
The College will be studying the
recommendations of this report and will take steps to improve
educational and clinical support for GP practices through its
Continuing Professional Development scheme - which will cover
important topics including dementia - and through its newly
established Clinical Innovation and Research Centre. RCGP Chair
Professor Mayur Lakhani said, “As a practising GP, I have seen
first hand the distressing nature of dementia and its devastating
impact not only on the patient, but also their family. GPs are on
the side of patients here but are hampered by a lack of good and
readily available services for patients and carers, which is the
real issue. We disagree with the report’s interpretation that GPs’
own attitudes are a barrier to better care. We think this is
overstating the case. GPs maintain a register of patients with
dementia and use memory tests where this is clinically indicated,
but dementia poses particular diagnostic challenges in the early
stages. However, we agree that the health and social care system
collectively needs to do much more and that there is considerable
scope for improvement.”
Many Patients with Heart Failure
Undiagnosed
A comprehensive review of heart
failure services in England, conducted by the Healthcare
Commission, has shown that whilst provisions have improved in
recent years, many patients go undiagnosed. The document reports
better access to diagnostic services and key treatments; wider
availability of specialist heart failure services and guidelines on
services; more consideration of end-of-life needs; and more
comprehensive education and support arrangements. However, it calls
for commissioners and providers to work together in local
communities to ensure that all patients with heart failure are
identified.
“PCTs and GPs need to monitor the
number of patients they deal with in comparison to national
statistics. Symptoms and treatments need to be recorded and
followed up by GPs. The care provided also needs to be audited so
lessons can be learnt and improvements made”, said Anna Walker,
Chief Executive of the Healthcare Commission, in response to the
findings.
Pushing the Boundaries: improving services for patients
with heart failure (Healthcare Commission
Report)
Guidance
Analysis of Medication
Incidents and Patient Safety in the NHS
A detailed analysis of NHS
medication incidents, reported between January 2005 and June 2006,
has been issued by the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA). It
describes the types of medication incidents that can be prevented
and includes examples of cases which have caused severe harm to
patients. Section five of the report reviews medication incidents
in the community. Seven priorities for action to improve the safe
use of medicines are identified including:
- Improving staff skills and
competences
- Minimising dosing errors
- Ensuring medicines are not omitted
- Making sure the correct medicines are given to the correct
patients
- Documenting patients’ medicine allergy status
Safety in Doses: medication safety incidents in the
NHS (Patient Safety Observatory)
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England
Announcements
Assessing and Managing Risk
Among Mental Health Service Users
Guidance on the assessment and
management of risk among mental health patients has been published
by the DH. The framework focuses on three main areas - violence
(including antisocial and offending behaviour), self-harm and
suicide, and self-neglect – and outlines a number of tools to
enable professionals to implement best practice when dealing with
these issues.
Best Practice in Managing Risk (DH
Document)
In a separate but related development, the DH has published a
report, conducted by the market research company Taylor Nelson
Sofres (TNS), examining people’s thoughts on mental illness,
comparing data collected during 1994-2007. The latest findings
showed no significant changes in the proportion of people
consulting a GP over mental illness. People aged 45-54 were found
to be the most likely to consult their GP over such issues, whilst
those aged 65-74 were the least likely to seek advice on mental
health problems.
Attitudes to Mental Illness
2007 (DH Report)
Effective Practice Based
Commissioning: case studies
Two case studies, showing how
Practice Based Commissioning (PBC) helped clinicians meet the 18
week target from GP referral to the start of treatment, have been
issued by the DH.
Practice Based Commissioning and 18 Weeks: how to
create win-wins (DH Leaflet)
Parliamentary News
New Ministerial Team at the
DH
The DH’s new Ministerial Team has
been appointed and comprises the following individuals:
- Rt Hon Dawn Primarolo
(Minister of State): was Paymaster General between 1999 and
2007, after being Financial Secretary to the Treasury.
- Ben Bradshaw MP (Minister of
State and Minister for the South West): previously Minister of
State at Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
- Professor Sir Ara Darzi
(Parliamentary Under Secretary of State): a surgeon
specialising in the field of minimally invasive and robot-assisted
surgery
- Ann Keen MP (Parliamentary
Under Secretary of State): formerly Parliamentary Private
Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer
- Ivan Lewis MP (Parliamentary
Under Secretary of State): continues his junior ministerial
post at the DH, which he has held since May 2006
Mental Health Bill Passed
with Main Government Proposals
The new Mental Health Bill
completed its passage through Parliament on 4 July with all the
main government proposals intact. It makes several improvements to
previous legislation including new powers to place patients on
Community Treatment Orders (which ensures they comply with their
treatment). It also strengthens patients' rights by providing
advocacy support for anyone detained and requires children and
young people to be treated in an environment that is suitable for
their age.
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Wales
Announcements
Guidance on Screening NHS
Workers for Communicable Diseases
Guidance on screening new NHS health care workers for
tuberculosis (TB), hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV has been issued
by the Welsh Assembly. Staff new to the service will be tested for
tuberculosis and hepatitis B, and offered vaccinations if required.
Whilst individuals undertaking ‘exposure prone procedures’ that
carry an increased risk of cross infection (such as surgery) must
be cleared for hepatitis C and HIV.
Screening
Measures for New Healthcare Workers (Welsh
Assembly Press Release)
Action to Improve Care for Diabetic
Children
Whilst the management of children and young people with Type 1
Diabetes is of a high standard in Wales, problems arise during the
transition from paediatric to adult care. New Government guidelines
address this issue; and also provide advice on the most effective
way to plan and deliver Type 1 Diabetes services to young
people.
Guidelines
to Improve Care for Diabetic Children (Welsh
Assembly Press Release)
Parliamentary News
Fairer Compensation System for NHS Patients
Health Minister, Edwina Hart, unveiled proposals to simplify the
NHS redress process, making the system more coherent and accessible
for patients seeking compensation for clinical negligence. The
measure will also enable NHS bodies to remedy their own mistakes
and learn from them. The new system will not be compulsory, so
patients will have the option of settling through the new process
or taking legal action.
NHS
Redress Measure (Welsh Assembly Press
Release)
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Scotland
Announcements
Care of Mental Health Patients Involved in Substance
Abuse
A review of the available guidance on the care and support of
patients with co-occurring substance misuse and mental health
problems has been published for consultation by the Scottish
Executive. In 2006, Ministers established an Advisory Group to
review and update available guidance, and provide practical
recommendations on improving services for this group and their
families. They found that service users felt GPs and Primary Health
Care professionals had an important role to play in their care. The
report makes a number of recommendations, including the following
set that are specifically aimed at primary care:
- Screening procedures for co-morbidity should be put in place,
with appropriate responses for the identification of problems in
general practice and across Primary Care.
- An Enhanced Service for Alcohol Misuse should be
developed.
- Individuals with co-morbid disorders should have equal
opportunities to accessing mainstream psychological therapies in
Primary Care.
- Individuals with mental health problems and severe substance
misuse problems should have the same commitment to chronic disease
management as individuals with other chronic disorders.
This consultation closes on the 13 September 2007.
Delivering for Mental Health Mental Health and Substance
Misuse (Scottish Executive Document)
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Northern Ireland
Announcements
No announcements.
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Contact Us
RCGP Information Services can be contacted at:
Email:
info@rcgp.org.uk
Tel: 020 7581 3232 ext: 240
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Disclaimer
Seven Days uses third party information and neither endorses nor guarentees the accuracy or authenticity of these sources.
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