The Department of Health have now produced a short version of the plan for the NHS:  Strategy for the NHS: an executive summary from ‘Equity and Excellence:  Liberating the NHS’.  This easy read version can be downloaded by clicking here.

In a proactive response to the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s recent decision that all future nurses and midwives will be required to undertake a degree in order to register,  the School of Nursing and Midwifery are changing the nursing and midwifery programmes offered.  Users and carers who have experiences of health care services are warmly invited to influence new nursing degree programmes being developed and introduced by Keele University in 2012.  The events are taking place on Monday 20th September 2010 2-4pm and Wednesday 22nd September 2010 11am-1pm.  If you would like more information, please contact Milly Luxford, Project Administrator either by phone on 01782 556657 or by email at c.luxford@nur.keele.ac.uk or, alternatively, download the information flier by clicking here.

Safe and Sustainable Children’s Heart Surgery:  A Briefing.  NHS West Midlands Specialised Commissioning have produced a briefing in respect of the review of Children’s heart surgery in England.  The briefing can be downloaded by clicking here.  The NHS will be publishing recommendations and start a national consultation process in October 2010 which will conclude in January 2011.  The NHS will consult the public using the following methods:

• Face to face events across England and Wales
• Online communications, including video and accessible information
• Printed communications, such as the consultation document itself and newsletters
• Through the media.

Further information can be found on their website at http://www.specialisedcommissioning.nhs.uk or by contacting the National Specialised Commissioning Team on 020 7932 3771 or email Zuzana Bates, Project Liaison Manager at Zuzana.Bates@nsscg.nhs.uk

Newcastle-under-Lyme 50+ Forum next meeting is taking place on Tuesday 14th September 2010 from 10.00am - 12.00noon at St Giles’ Church Hall, Church Street, Newcastle-under-Lyme, ST5 1QS.  The theme for the meeting is “Taking care of your future” with representatives from Knights solicitors on the importance of making a will and other legal procedures and Kath Curley, Advocate for people with Dementia from the Beth Johnson Foundation.  If you would like more information, please contact Margaret Coley on 01782 562659.

The Agenda for the Co-ordinating Group meeting to be held on Friday 10th September at 12.15pm is now available.  To download a copy of the agenda, please click here  or, alternatively, please contact the LINk Support Team on 01785 887990 to request a paper copy.

Due to staff annual leave and statutory bank holidays, the Support Team office will be closed on Thursday 26th August, Friday 27th August, Monday 30th August and Tuesday 31st August 2010.  The office will re-open on Wednesday 1st September 2010.  An answerphone message service is available on telephone number 01785 887990 and if you would like to leave a message, we will call you back.

The latest edition of the Staffordshire LINk Bulletin is now available to download by clicking here.  Alternatively, you can request a paper copy by calling the LINk Support Team on 01785 887990.

The West Midlands Ambulance NHS Trust August newsletter is now available.  Read the latest news and information from the Trust including Emergency Bikers, Defibs for Distributors, Steve Retires after 41 years, Yvonne loses Pounds for £s, Thanks for Saving my Life, Dreams Come True for Ray, Trust Lifts National Golf Trophy and much much more.  To download the newsletter, please click here.

The Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence are running a series of meetings to provide an update on what they are doing to make the regulation more patient-centred and to listen to your views as your opinion really matters to them.

At the meetings you can:

• Learn what they found in the Performance Review of the health professional regulators this year
• Give your views on two new projects:  Measuring Regulators’ work and How regulators involve patients and the public
• Hear where they have got to with creating a single point of contact for complaints about a health professional
• Work with them to develop their plans to engage with patients and the public.

The meetings are taking place in Manchester, Glasgow, Cardiff, Belfast and London.  All the meetings start at 11.00am and registration opens at 10.30am on the day.  The details for the meeting in Manchester are set out below:

18th October 2010

Room 4/5 Manchester University Staff house Conference Centre, Sackville Street, Manchester, M1 3BB.

To view the programme for these events and find out about the work of CHRE and their expenses policy, please visit their website at http://www.chre.org.uk/public/271/

Places at the meetings are limited and you are encouraged to register early to avoid disappointment.  Registrations for all events close on 1 October 2010.

The first meeting of the Staffordshire LINk Co-ordinating Group is taking place on Friday 10th September 2010 at 12.15pm and will be held in the meeting room at the Community Council of Staffordshire offices based at Friars Mill, Friars Terrace, Stafford.  ST17 4DX (www.staffs.org.uk).  Anyone is welcome to attend the meeting and the agenda will be posted on the website shortly.  Anyone wishing to ask a question of the Co-ordinating Group in respect of an agenda item, should submit their question in writing/email at least 5 calendar days before the meeting to the LINk Support Team.   Time at the end of each meeting will be allocated in order to respond to any questions submitted.