Health and Care Update Care Information Sharing Children Mental Health Clinical Risk/Health and Safety Primary Care Commissioning Procurement Employment/HR Public Health Finance General

01/11/2024

Bevan Brittan provides high quality, comprehensive advice to the NHS, independent healthcare sector and local authorities. This update contains brief details of recent Government publications, legislation, cases and other developments relevant to those involved in health and social care work, both in the NHS, independent sector and local authorities which have been published in the last month.

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Training Events	Housing
Acute and emergency care	Independent Health
Children/young people	Mental Health
Clinical Risk/Patient Safety	Primary Care
Digital Health	Regulation
Employment/HR	Social Care
Finance	General
Health Inequalities

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Bevan Brittan Free Training Events

There is no charge for any of the events listed below

Webinars
These are internal hour long lunch time training sessions. You can sign up to watch the training sessions remotely via our webinar facility. Please contact Claire Bentley.

International Transfers - Thursday 7 November 2024 | 12:30 - 13:30 | 1 Hour. Join us for this session with Emma Sutton KC, Serjeants' Inn Chambers, who will review the key cases and guidance when dealing with international transfers for people who lack capacity and/or children.

Dispute Resolution – The Changing Landscape; Mediation and Beyond.- Tuesday 12 November 2024 | 12:30 - 13:30 | 1 Hour. Julienne Vernon, Head of Technical Claims at NHS Resolution, and Tim Wallis, Mediator with Trust Mediation, will join Joanne Easterbrook to look at developments in Dispute Resolution in clinical negligence and personal injury.

Health inequalities faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. - Thursday 21 November 2024 | 12:30 - 13:30 | 1 Hour. Julia Jones will be joined by Marc Willers KC who will consider the particular issues that the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities in the UK experience when accessing healthcare alongside consideration of discrimination and human rights and the obligations of public bodies.

Cyber Risk, Response and Claims - Tuesday 26 November 2024 | 12:30 - 13:30 | 1 Hour. Join a conversation with industry experts on Cyber Risk, Response and Claims. With increasing and high profile cyber-attacks on both health and care organisations we discuss the issues that organisations face, what can be done prevent and minimise attacks, what to do if your organisation falls victim to an attack and the steps that should be taken to minimise the impact on your organisation which can far ranging in terms of patient safety, work force, and finance.

Experiences in the Coroner’s Court. - Thursday 5 December 2024 | 12:30 - 13:30 | 1 Hour. Join us for a conversation with inquest specialist Samantha Minchin and Assistant Coroner Valerie Charbit. Topics for discussion will include:

evidential management
advocate competencies
when independent expert evidence is required
how many witnesses do you really need?
Prevention of Future Deaths reports

Recent developments in breach and causation for clinical negligence lawyers. Tuesday 10 December 2024 | 12:30 - 13:30 | 1 Hour. Join us for this webinar with Thomas Beamont, who will discuss important issues arising from various cases, touching on both breach of duty and causation for clinical negligence practitioners.

Please note that registration for each webinar will close one hour before the webinar starts, so please do ensure you have booked your place in advance to guarantee attendance.

Acute and emergency care

News

Sir Chris Hoy’s terminal cancer diagnosis prompts near sevenfold increase for prostate cancer advice

Pressure on A&E continues with 1.2 million extra attendances so far this year

If you wish to discuss any queries you may have around acute and emergency issues please contact Claire Bentley.

Children and young people

Publications/Guidance

Proposed changes to the availability of puberty blockers: Royal Pharmaceutical Society Response. A Royal Pharmaceutical Society publication sets out its response to the Government's consultation on the proposed change to the availability of puberty blockers. In its response, it has consolidated its position expressed in its earlier statement of July 2024. It states that it continues to actively engage with the Department of Health and Social Care about its concerns around the potential criminalisation of pharmacists who dispense these medicines and its call for patients to have timely access to specialist care pathways for support. Whilst it acknowledges the proposals to ban the supply of puberty blockers to those under 18 unless in the circumstances outlined in the banning order, it expresses concerns around the robustness of referral pathways for those needing compassionate and supportive care.

Safeguarding and the voluntary sector. NSPCC Learning has published a learning from case reviews briefing on safeguarding in the voluntary sector. The briefing explores learning from a sample of case reviews published between 2015 and 2024. Issues identified include a lack of clarity around voluntary agencies’ safeguarding roles and responsibilities. The learning from these case reviews highlights the need for organisations in the voluntary sector to create and share clear child protection policies and procedures and build good working relationships with other agencies.

Kinship care. The Department for Education (DfE) has published statutory guidance on kinship care, setting out how local authorities in England should support children who are cared for by extended family or friends. The guidance, aimed at professionals working in children’s social care, outlines: the definition and role of kinship care; the types of arrangements and processes; and the requirement for each local authority to publish a kinship local offer explaining the support available to children and their carers.

Poverty and children in care. The Together Trust has published a report exploring links between poverty and children entering care in the UK. It looks at research on poverty and the care system, examining how factors such as abuse, neglect, deprivation, education, race, health, and welfare policies are intertwined. Recommendations for policy change include recognition of poverty as a primary driver behind children entering care, not just a contextual factor.

Children’s experiences of care. Ofsted has published new research into children’s experiences of living in social care settings in England. The research sets out the results from a survey of 6,995 children and young people about settings including children’s homes, foster care and residential special schools. Findings show: nearly all children who responded said they felt safe where they live or stay; 91% reported that they get along with staff or carers ‘always’ or ‘most of the time’; and children living in supported accommodation were least likely to spend time with the people who are important to them.

Listening and engaging with care experienced individuals: A good practice guide. Listening and engaging with care experienced individuals: A good practice guide. The guide was co-produced with a group of Coram Voice A National Voice (ANV) Ambassadors from across England who have been involved in participation. The purpose is to support councillors, council officers and those working in other organisations who want to work with those with care experience.

Children’s social care. The Department for Education (DfE) has published a children’s social care dashboard to support local authorities in England and partners who work in and with children’s social care. The data dashboard is designed to support the implementation of the Children’s social care national framework by displaying data indicators to help both local and central government to understand progress towards the outcomes and enablers set out in the framework.

Disability and care experienced children and young people. Coram Voice has published new analysis of the numbers and experiences of children in care and care leavers with a disability or long-term health condition. This is based on a Freedom of Information request to councils and hearing from care experienced people and leaving care professionals. Findings include disparities between local authority record data and self-reported information, and a rising proportion of young people self-reporting a disability or long-term health condition.

A report by Kinship considering available data on children in and leaving care finds that many kinship foster carers are choosing not to move to other kinship arrangements outside of the care system, as a result of financial disincentives. The report argues that equalising financial allowances between kinship foster carers and kinship carers supported outside the care system would help to improve experiences and outcomes for children and their families and deliver good value for local authority budgets. The DfE plans to trial a kinship financial allowance, to be paid at the same rate as the fostering allowance, to identify how this impacts on children and families.

Outsourcing of social care provision. The Nuffield Foundation and the University of Oxford have published a report on trends and outcomes associated with the outsourcing of adult and children’s social care provision. Findings in relation to children’s social care include increased outsourcing to private for-profit providers since 2010, significant data gaps and the concentration of for-profit children’s homes in disadvantaged areas. Involuntary closures and enforcement actions by regulators are concentrated among for-profit operators in both adult and children’s social care.

Domestic abuse. NSPCC Learning has published a podcast episode on the effects of domestic abuse on children, young people and babies. The episode features representatives from Childline and the NSPCC Helpline discussing: what children are telling Childline about domestic abuse and how this differs from what adults are telling the Helpline; the ways in which the effects of domestic abuse may present through a child’s behaviour; the importance of listening to the voice of the child; and safeguarding actions for professionals who identify domestic abuse.

Legislation/Guidance

Looked After Children (Distance Placements) Bill 2024-25 (HC Bill 22). A Bill to require local authorities to publish information about looked after children in distance placements; to require local authorities to develop and publish sufficiency plans in respect of their duty under the Children Act 1989 s. 22G; to require the Secretary of State to publish a national sufficiency plan in respect of looked after children in distance placements; and for connected purposes.

Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill 2024-25. A Bill to allow adults who are terminally ill, subject to safeguards and protections, to request and be provided with assistance to end their own life; and for connected purposes.

News

Understanding online child sexual exploitation.

Kinship care. The Family Rights Group has published an article on kinship care outlining measures that they would like the Government to adopt to help improve support for kinship carers in England. Among other measures, the charity is calling for the Children’s Wellbeing Bill to include a statutory definition of kinship care and introduce a legal right for families to be offered a family group conference before social workers consider going to court to remove their children.

Infant mortality. The Guardian has published a news story summarising findings from recent research on infant mortality in England published in the Lancet Regional Health Europe journal. The study found that infants living in the most deprived areas were at greater risk of mortality than those in the least deprived areas during the study period, and it identified four factors – preterm birth, smoking during pregnancy, teenage pregnancy and maternal depression – which collectively accounted for more than one-third of the socioeconomic inequality in mortality. The Guardian news story suggests that targeted interventions addressing these factors could help to reduce inequalities although higher-level structural changes are also required.

Bevan Brittan Events

If you wish to discuss any queries you may have around children please contact Deborah Jeremiah.

Clinical Risk / Patient Safety

Publications/Guidance

DHSC publishes guidance on NHS injury costs recovery scheme for 2024 to 2025. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has published guidance on the application of the NHS injury costs recovery scheme for 2024 to 2025. The guidance is primarily designed for NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts that offer treatment for injuries whose costs can be recovered from the NHS injury costs recovery scheme (ICR). It outlines the circumstances where costs are recoverable, along with the process under which this is undertaken, as well as advising on the recording of ICR payments in annual accounts.

NHS Resolution publishes report recommending risk assessments to combat workplace violence. NHS Resolution has published a report recommending that training and risk assessments can assist in reducing workplace violence. The report found that providing a compassionate response and support package to staff affected by workplace violence is crucial for retaining, protecting, and ensuring their safety and well-being. The new report aligns with the findings in the Health and Safety Executive Violence at Work Statistics 2020 report. It highlighted that professionals face a higher-than-average risk of workplace violence. Experts from NHS England's Violence Prevention and Reduction team, The Social Partnership Forum, and the HSE have identified six key areas for NHS organisations to focus on to reduce violence in the workplace.

HSE publishes guidance on using nitrous oxide in maternity units. Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published a guidance on using nitrous oxide (gas and air) safely in maternity units. The guidance is aimed at those in maternity units who are responsible for preventing harm from high levels of exposure to nitrous oxide. The guidance covers levels of exposure, control measures, monitoring exposure and management systems.

New NHS programme to reduce brain injury in childbirth trialled. Programme to help avoid brain injury in childbirth piloted to boost maternity safety.

Business Plan 2024/25: Keeping patients safe and enabling access to high quality, safe and effective medical products The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency's business plan for 2024-25 states that the primary focus will be on areas including: maintaining public trust through transparency and proactive communication, including working to address health inequalities; enabling healthcare access to safe and effective medical products; and delivering scientific and regulatory excellence through strategic partnerships. It notes that underpinning the agency's service optimisation will be two new regulatory IT systems, SafetyConnect and RegulatoryConnect.

Review into the operational effectiveness of the Care Quality Commission: full report. In May 2024, Dr Penny Dash was asked by the DHSC to conduct a review into the operational effectiveness of the Care Quality Commission (CQC). An interim report, providing a high-level summary of her emerging findings, was published in July 2024. The full report has found significant failings in the internal workings of the CQC, which have led to a substantial loss of credibility within the health and social care sectors, a deterioration in the ability of the CQC to identify poor performance and support a drive to improve quality, and a direct impact on the capacity and capability of both the social care and the health care sectors to deliver much-needed improvements in care. The report outlines the necessary changes to start improving the CQC.

Review of patient safety across the health and care landscape: terms of reference. This guidance sets out the terms of an independent review of patient safety across the health and care landscape. It will: map the broad range of organisations that impact on quality (and therefore have links to safety); and focus on six key organisations overseen by the DHSC, which have a significant impact on safety. This review follows on from Dr Penny Dash’s review into the operational effectiveness of the CQC. It will be used to more widely inform the government’s 10-year health plan.

Partnering for progress: a data-driven analysis of NHS–industry partnerships. This report aims to systematically measure how NHS–industry partnerships support improved patient outcomes using data from across the NHS. The research found that hospitals engaging in industry partnerships are up to 2.5 times more likely to follow NICE recommendations for prescribing clinically and cost-effective medicines more closely, compared to hospitals that do not.

Recommendations to the government from Sir Robert Francis KC. Sir Robert Francis KC, has made recommendations to inform the proposed infected blood compensation scheme, based on feedback from the infected blood community.

Update on Interim Compensation Payments for Victims of Infected Blood: Statement made on 24 October 2024. In a written statement, the Cabinet Office announces that the process under which estates can apply for £100,000 interim compensation payments in relation to people who died as a result of the infected blood scandal has opened. These payments will be delivered through the existing Infected Blood Support Schemes and come in advance of a comprehensive compensation scheme to be delivered by the Blood Compensation Authority. It fulfils the commitment placed on the Government by the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 and helps deliver on Recommendation 12 of the Infected Blood Inquiry's Second Interim Report.

State of health and adult social care in England: 2023 to 2024. Presented to Parliament pursuant to the Health and Social Care Act 2008 s.83(4)(a), a report from the Care Quality Commission analyses inspection and ratings data from 2023 to 2024 to provide an assessment of the state of health care and adult social care in England. The report highlights the following as areas of specific concern: too many women are still not receiving the high-quality maternity care they deserve; children and young people are not always able to access services in a timely way; the number of health visitors has declined by 45% over the last nine years; the average waiting time to start an autism assessment reached a peak of 328 days in April 2024, rather than the recommended three months; and many people are waiting too long for a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards authorisation.

GLP-1 receptor agonists: reminder of the potential side effects and to be aware of the potential for misuse. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency guidance reminds healthcare professionals to inform patients about the common and serious side effects associated with glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs), also known as ozempic, and used to treat type 2 diabetes or obesity. It also advises professionals to be alert for signs of misuse of these medicines in their patients, report any adverse reactions via the Yellow Card scheme, and warn patients of the risk of falsified GLP-1RA medicines for weight loss if not prescribed by a registered healthcare professional.

From red tape to green: admin that works for everyone. Prioritising ‘patients over paperwork’ might sound sensible, but don’t ignore the potential of good admin to improve patient experience.

Primary care patient safety strategy. This strategy outlines the primary care implementation of the NHS Patient Safety Strategy, and is for all areas of primary care, though with some improvements implemented first in general practice to enable the successes and learning to be used in the rollout to community pharmacy, optometry and dental services.

Review of patient safety across the health and care landscape: terms of reference. Terms of reference for the government's review of the safety of the health and care landscape.

Patient Safety Commissioner publishes Patient Safety Principles. The Patient Safety Commissioner (PSC) has published its Patient Safety Principles. Following a public consultation which garnered over 800 responses, PSC has developed the Patient Safety Principles, a framework for healthcare providers to guide decision-making, planning and collaboration between healthcare professionals and patients. The seven principles includes creating a culture of safety, putting patients at the heart of everything, treating people equitably, identifying and acting on inequalities, identifying and mitigating risks and being transparent and accountable.

News

Lorry driver in dishonest NHS compensation case.

Bevan Brittan Updates

The Management of Impacted Fetal Head at Caesarean Birth – A Legal Perspective - Penelope Radcliffe

Bevan Brittan Events

evidential management
advocate competencies
when independent expert evidence is required
how many witnesses do you really need?
Prevention of Future Deaths reports

How we can help

We are working with clients on formulating policies and making it easier to balance treatment with finite resources. We are helping with social care policies and day to day activities such as contact and isolation, human rights issues and life/death decisions. We are working on notifications of harm and death, RIDDOR, CQC compliance, judicial review, infection control law and grappling with the new regulations and guidance. For more information click here. If you wish to discuss any clinical risk or patient safety issues please contact Joanne Easterbrook or Tim Hodgetts.

Digital Health

Publications/guidance

Digital transformation survey 2024: challenges, opportunities and priorities for trust leaders. This report finds that NHS trusts are being held back from further and faster digital transformation of services by limited budgets, day-to-day pressures and inadequate IT infrastructure. NHS leaders are calling for a step change in support to drive the digital revolution, including long-term, sustainable, strategic investment, so that they can make the most of new technology.

Design for Life Roadmap: Building a circular economy for medical technology. A Department of Health and Social Care publication outlines a strategy to dramatically cut the number of single-use medical devices in the NHS and reduce the UK's reliance on foreign imports. It sets out a plan of 30 actions to deliver a transition away from all avoidable single-use medical technology products towards a functioning circular system by 2045 that maximises reuse, remanufacture and recycling. This will involve: exploring new commercial incentives to provide circular medtech; creating new standards to enable innovative products and services; and planning the decontamination and recycling infrastructure of the future.

Bevan Brittan Updates

The importance of ethics in AI. Take a look at Daniel Morris and Vincent Buscemi’s article on the importance of ethics in AI published here https://healthcareworld.com/magazines/issue-fourteen/ at pp44-46.

If you wish to discuss any queries you may have around Digital Health please contact Daniel Morris.

Employment/HR

Publications/guidance

Towards a healthier workforce: interim report of the Commission for Healthier Working Lives This analysis shows that each year around 300,000 people aged 16–64 have left the workforce and report having a work-limiting health condition. Once out of the workforce, these individuals are nearly three times less likely to return to employment than those in good health. Drawing on insights from employers, experts and the public, the report highlights the need for a new approach to help people with health conditions remain in or return to work.

Guidance: the establishment and introduction of the specialist role in England. This document provides guidance on how NHS organisations in England should consider the introduction of the specialist role and embed this into their workforce. It will assist in supporting NHS employing organisations to identify the circumstances in which a specialist role could be established within an organisation’s medical and dental workforce structure. This specialist grade was created as part of the contract reform negotiations for specialists, associate specialists and specialty doctors and dentists (SAS), and agreed in England between the British Medical Association (BMA), the Department of Health and Social Care, and NHS Employers.

Equality, diversity and inclusion: targets, progress and priorities for 2024. This report finds that inequality is embedded in medicine throughout a doctor’s career, from the earliest days of education and training to the leadership positions of latter years. It concludes that there needs to be a cultural shift, and a focus on longer-term systemic issues, across UK health care, if inequalities are to be eradicated.

National people sexual misconduct policy framework. This framework was developed for integrated care boards and trusts to adopt and adapt, ensuring that any member of staff who has experienced inappropriate and/or harmful sexual behaviours at work is supported by their employer. It aims to help staff to: understand their rights and responsibilities; recognise and report sexual misconduct at work; and get advice and support. The policy is published alongside an e-learning resource.

Physician associates in general practice: scope of practice. This guidance is for GP practices that employ physician associates (PAs). Its purpose is to describe the scope of practice for all PAs working in UK general practice. It should be read in conjunction with the College’s policy position on PAs, as well as related RCGP guidance (on Supervision and Induction and preceptorship).

The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England 2024. This report finds that international recruitment drove improvements in the adult social care workforce in the year to March 2024. It shows that the workforce grew (to 1.71 million filled posts) and vacancies fell (to 131,000 on any given day) for the second successive year. However, the sector faces ongoing domestic recruitment and retention challenges.

Towards a healthier workforce: interim report of the Commission for Healthier Working Lives. This analysis shows that each year, around 300,000 people aged 16–64 have left the workforce and report having a work-limiting health condition. Once out of the workforce, these individuals are nearly three times less likely to return to employment than those in good health. Drawing on insights from employers, experts and the public, the report highlights the need for a new approach to help people with health conditions remain in or return to work.

Public health 2040: how technology and AI is reshaping the wider public health workforce. New technology and artificial intelligence (AI) has already had a profound impact on the UK, and offers new opportunities to improve the delivery of public health. However, these developments also pose potential threats to the wider public health workforce, who are key to ensuring a healthy population. They are uniquely placed to help manage these changes to the public’s health and will be essential in navigating and utilising new technological developments.

News

Anonymous reporting for NHS staff to report sexual misconduct at work. In the first ever policy of its kind in the NHS, NHS staff will be able to anonymously report incidents of sexual misconduct, as part of plans to improve safety across the health service. The framework issued to local hospitals and available to adopt from 16 October 2024, outlines how those working in the health service should recognise, report and act on sexual misconduct in the workplace and includes guidance for those conducting investigations following a disclosure from a colleague, including forming a specialist review group with access to subject matter experts and independent investigators, and a detailed set of steps to ensure the right support has been offered.

Bevan Brittan Updates

The Employment Rights Bill – “the biggest upgrade to workers' rights in a generation" - Kelly Simpson

Employment Eye - Sarah Lamont

The Impact and effectiveness of the UK Modern Slavery regime - Louise Mansfield

How we can help

We can offer support and advice on managing many workforce issues including flexing your workforce to respond to the pandemic, managing bank staff, redeployment, vulnerable groups, sick pay, leave options, supporting staff well-being, presenteeism, remote and home working, through FAQs, helpline or policy guidance and practical day to day advice.

If you wish to discuss any employment issues generally please contact Jodie Sinclair, Alastair Currie, Oonagh Sharma, James Gutteridge or Andrew Uttley.

Finance

Publications/guidance

Women's health economics: investing in the 51%. According to this report by the NHS Confederation, Create Health Foundation and London Economics, an additional £1 invested in obstetrics and gynaecology services per woman in England could generate an estimated £319 million return to the economy. This equates to a return on investment of £11 per woman in England for every additional £1 invested in obstetrics and gynaecology services. The report reveals the high costs to the economy of women being unable to work due to a range of conditions (including heavy and painful periods, endometriosis, fibroids and ovarian cysts) not being treated effectively.

Supporting people back to work: the intersection of health and economic policy. The government seems committed to thinking about how its health mission can support growth, but will it be a reciprocal relationship or a one-way street, asks Sarah Arnold (Senior Policy Lead at The King's Fund).

Protecting patients and the NHS through full transparency in industry–NHS collaborations. This policy brief, written by a team of international academic researchers and UK-based patient advocates, recommends key legislative reforms to enhance financial transparency in industry–NHS collaborations. It recommends legislative changes in three key areas based on patient experience, international best practices, and research evidence. The brief argues that these reforms will promote transparency and will support the government’s core missions to strengthen the NHS and drive investment in life sciences.

If you wish to discuss any finance issues generally please contact Claire Bentley.

Health Inequalities

Publications/Guidance

Policy position: racial and ethnic equality in women’s health. This statement sets out the RCOG’s position and recommendations on the key areas for change across NHS England and UK government policy to address inequalities in Black, Asian and minority ethnic women’s health and care.

NHS hospital care: who is waiting and what are they waiting for? This analysis from Nuffield Trust and the Health Foundation reveals there are large differences between how long different groups of patients are waiting for NHS care in England. In particular, it shows that people from the most deprived areas are much more likely to say they are waiting for planned care, young people of Black ethnicity experience longer waits in A&E, and those waiting for gynaecological care face a hugely increased waiting list.

Tackling health inequalities: seven priorities for the NHS. Drawing on The King’s Fund’s five-year programme of work on health inequalities and tackling the worst health outcomes, which includes insights from stakeholders, partners, and people with lived experience, this long read outlines what we think the anticipated 10-year health plan should focus on to help the NHS do more to tackle these challenges.

Championing inclusion health: local government’s key role. Local government plays a vital role in championing inclusion health for the country's most vulnerable communities. This report and the case studies within it offer insight into the optimal ways of working with inclusion health groups, while also shining a light on the scale of work required to improve health care for a diverse range of people across England.

How costing teams are helping to reduce health inequalities. Patient-level cost data has significant potential as a way to understand the equity of health care provision, as it can be analysed by indices of deprivation, health conditions and treatments at a granular level. Costing practitioners have skills and experience in working with patient-level data and can be a great resource for their organisation, using analytical prowess to develop increased benefit to patients. Working on health equity is also a good way to engage clinicians and address priorities, leading to greater awareness of how cost data can be used. This briefing shares the themes found by costing teams as they work with clinical and service colleagues to address health inequalities, illustrating the themes with practical examples.

Tackling health inequalities through English devolution. Produced by the CLES and The King’s Fund, and supported by the Health Foundation, this report sets out a bold vision for tackling health inequalities across England through devolution. The research explores the case for regional devolution as an effective approach towards narrowing health inequalities, and sets out key considerations for the government to push forward on this agenda. This includes: ensuring that economic growth acts to narrow rather than deepen health inequalities; enabling stronger joint working between local and regional government and integrated care systems to address health inequalities; and delivering a fairer funding deal for councils.

News

Bevan Brittan Events

How we can help

We have a multidisciplinary team advising NHS commissioners and providers on all aspects of tackling health inequalities, ranging from:

advising on the new legal framework and compliance with the relevant statutory duties, particularly in the context of service reconfiguration;
addressing workforce inequalities;
taking action on patient safety to reduce health inequalities;
the role of the Care Quality Commission in tackling health inequalities; and
lessons to be learnt from the Covid-19 pandemic.

If you wish to discuss any queries you may have around health inequalities please contact Julia Jones.

Housing

Bevan Brittan Updates

Homelessness and Health - Guidance for the NHS involved in the discharge of patients - Jane Bennett

If you wish to discuss any queries you may have around housing please contact Julia Jones.

Independent Health

Publications/Guidance

Mental health and learning disabilities services: the role of the independent sector. A look at the role and value of the independent sector in mental health and learning disabilities services, with examples of initiatives developed.

For more information contact Tim Hodgetts or Julie Charlton

Mental Health

Publications/Guidance

Maternal mental health services: progress report. This report details how maternal mental health services are being delivered at the local level. It finds that there has been progress with the establishment of these services in most areas of England but that many of these small services are struggling to cope with levels of demand. The data shows wide variation between what care is provided for women, birthing people and their families, the criteria to access this care, and waiting times for assessment and treatment in different parts of the country.

The climate crisis: a critical threat to mental health. Emma Wills considers the impact of the climate crisis on mental health, and calls for a holistic response that brings together mental health, environmental sustainability, economic security and societal resilience.

Mental health policy and services in England. This briefing provides an overview of mental health policy in England.

Covid-19 and the nation’s mental health: a review of the evidence published so far. Covid-19 was an unprecedented global health emergency unlike anything else in living memory. While the pandemic’s immediate impact was on physical health, it also had a profound impact on people’s mental health. This report explores what is known about those impacts, and how they have affected mental health services in the UK, four years on from the start of the pandemic.

Mental health inpatient settings: creating conditions for the delivery of safe and therapeutic care to adults. In June 2023 the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced that HSSIB would undertake a series of investigations focused on mental health inpatient settings. This report describes the findings of the first of those investigations, exploring the risks to patient safety associated with the workforce and working conditions in acute mental health inpatient settings for adults.

Cases

CD, Re (Treatment: Haemodialysis) [2024] EWCOP 55. Application for declarations that it was not in CD's best interests to have new haemodialysis catheter fitted and that he should receive palliative care instead.

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust v HX & Ors [2024] EWCOP 52. Judgment concerning medical treatment for HX, a woman in her late 40's who now has brain damage following a cardiac arrest.

News

NHS hospital and manager to stand trial for manslaughter of 22-year-old woman

Bevan Brittan Events

How we can help

We are experts in advising commissioners, providers and care co-ordinators on the relevant legal frameworks. We deal with complex issues such as deprivation of liberty, state involvement, use of CCTV monitoring, seclusion, physical restraint and covert medication. We can help providers with queries about admission and detention, consent to treatment, forensic service users, transfers, leave, discharge planning and hearings. We can advise commissioners on all matters concerning commissioning responsibility, liability and disputes. For more information click here

If you wish to discuss any mental health issues facing your organisation please contact Simon Lindsay or Hannah Taylor.

Primary Care

Publications/Guidance

Balancing supply and demand in primary care: how will the 'family doctor' evolve to meet growing demand?
This research identifies that demand for GP services is likely to rise by about 33% by 2034, compared to a baseline in 2015 when GP statistics were first made publicly available. Planned increases to GP numbers alone will not be sufficient to close this gap, highlighting the critical importance of supplementing GP numbers with a range of other trained staff. A visit to the family doctor will look different for many. One test of the new long term plan will be its ability to meet these challenges.

Patients first: why general practice is broken and how we can fix it. Across England, practices are working at an unprecedented level of activity with daily appointments running at almost 1.5 million. Despite this, the value of funding into the national contract is at a nadir, with GP practices receiving 5.5p in every NHS pound. This report details suggested changes that need to happen to stop the loss of local practices, to retain experienced NHS GPs in their surgeries, and to fund practices to take on more GPs and more practice nurses to deliver more appointments.

If you wish to discuss any issues in primary care then please contact Joanne Easterbrook or Ben Lambert.

Regulation

Publications/Guidance

Review into the operational effectiveness of the Care Quality Commission: full report. Final findings and recommendations of the review into the operational effectiveness of the Care Quality Commission.

Bevan Brittan Updates

The Way Forward for CQC – The Dash and Richards Reports – Something Old, Something New…. - Carlton Sadler

Care Quality Commission – Update on the Single Assessment Framework - Carlton Sadler

If you wish to discuss any issues in regulation then please contact Stuart Marchant

Social Care

Publications/Guidance

Evidencing the outsourcing of social care provision in England: final project report. This report highlights the outsourcing trends and quality concerns in adult and children's social care in England. The findings are crucial to understanding the care crisis impacting both sectors, as well as the challenges of maintaining quality care amid increased marketisation. The report underscores the need for data-driven approaches to social care reform in England. The growing reliance on private for-profit providers, particularly in residential settings like care homes and children's homes, raises important questions about whether current policies deliver sufficient quality and access across the country.

Adult social care: market shaping. How to create personalised, high quality, sustainable care solutions using a range of care providers and support organisations.

Adult social care in England: what next? This report sets out the major challenges facing the adult social care system in England and explores potential future developments for the sector.

The state of social care in England, and the case for a comprehensive social care strategy. This briefing describes the key findings from Nuffield Trust research and analysis on social care over several years. It outlines the definition and context of social care, the current range of dire problems, and makes recommendations to address these, building a thriving future for the sector as a vital public service. It suggests urgent, immediate actions as well as the shape of successful reform in the long term, and looks at how adult social care can work better with the NHS.

Adult social care workforce in England. An overview of key issues and policy concerning the adult social care workforce in England.

The state of health care and adult social care in England 2023/24. This annual assessment of the state of health and social care in England looks at the quality of care over the past year. It draws on inspection activity, findings from the CQC’s national NHS patient survey programme and statutory reports, bespoke research into people’s experiences, insights from key stakeholders, and evidence collected by the regulator throughout the year about the quality and safety of services in all areas of health and care.

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Paving a new pathway to prevention: leveraging increased returns on our collective investment. This report (produced together with Carnall Farrar) suggests that better targeting of existing money spent on prevention could deliver an extra £11 billion annual return on investment (ROI) and hold the key to the government achieving its goal of increasing the impact of prevention. The analysis also found that if the upper quartile ROI was achieved across all interventions, then the financial impact could be up to £22 billion per year – an increase from the £11 billion per year estimate that comes from the £5 billion per year of current spending.

Government issues rallying cry to the nation to help fix NHS. Members of the public as well as NHS staff and experts will be invited to share their experiences views and ideas for fixing the NHS.

Climate change and heat-related mortality: will ‘summer crises’ become part of the NHS’s future? In this blog from The King's Fund, researcher Luca Tiratelli considers the potential impact of climate change on people's health and what it might mean for the NHS.

Public health 2040: health protection in a warming world. Climate change is set to pose significant changes to our planet and health. The wider public health workforce, who are key to ensuring a healthy population, are uniquely placed to help manage these changes to the public’s health. This briefing looks at the future needs of the public health workforce to ensure that they have the capacity, skills, resources and support needed to protect the public from the impact of new threats to their health.

Prevent duty: guidance for healthcare professionals. Practical information for healthcare professionals about the Prevent duty, part of the government’s counter-terrorism strategy.

Prevent duty in healthcare: guidance and training for practitioners. Guidance and training resources on the counter-terrorism Prevent duty for those working in healthcare.

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01/11/2024

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