Following the introduction of a new law, all NHS hospitals in England must now be licensed by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).  To be licensed hopsitals must show that they are meeting new essential standards of quality and safety.  CQC continuously monitors them to make sure standards are kept or improvement action is taken.  Now CQC has published a leaflet which informs patients, their carers and families, what they can expect from the essential standards.  The leaflet also explains how important it is that patients or their carers tell the regulator about their experiences, both good and bad, to help CQC make the right decisions.  Called ‘What standards to expect from the regulation of your NHS hospital’ the leaflet can be read or downloaded from the CQC website.

At the same time the CQC website publishes an up-to-date directory of all licensed NHS hospitals.  You can now look up the current status of any NHS hospital trust in England.

The licensing of NHS hospitals is just the first step in a programme which will see new essential standards of quality and safety gradually rolled out across all health and adult social care services in England.  In October this year all adult social care services must be licensed by CQC and providers must demonstrate they are meeting essential standards of quality and safety; so too must all providers of independent healthcare.  You can find out more about the programme and how it affects the care you and your family receives by visiting CQC’s website at www.cqc.org.uk  or you can contact the Care Quality Commission on 03000 616161.  The leaftlet can be downloaded by clicking here.

A series of consultation events organised by Regional Voices, a Strategic Partner to the Department of Health, to discuss the implications and impact of the changes proposed in the Health White Paper are taking place in September.  Theses events are for the voluntary and community sector, and patients, service user and carers groups.  Further information and a booking form can be downloaded by clicking here.  The NHS White Paper and consultation documents produced by the Department of Health can be accessed in the Resources: Reports section of the Staffordshire LINk website.  The consultation documents are entitled:

Local Democratic Legitimacy

Transparency in outcomes - a framework for the NHS

Commissioning for Patients

Regulating NHS Providers

The Care Quality Commission (CQC)  today acknowledged significant improvements at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust however a number of important improvements remain outstanding.

If you would like to see CQC’s full report, a copy of their report on the trust’s progress in implementing recommendations can be downloaded by clicking here.

The consultation period for voting on the LINk’s workplan priorities for 2010/2011 concluded on Monday 19th July.  LINk participants were able to at the LINk AGM; on-line voting via the LINk website and paper votes cast at community engagement events and by post.

The results are shown above and the top 6 priority themes identified are:

Acute Care Services, Respite/Day Care Services, Dignity and Respect, Mental Health Services, Carers Services and Service provision.

A work programme is now being formulated in order to progress these themes and if you are interested in being involved in any of the above work plan priorities, please contact the LINk Support Team on 01785 887990 or by email at enquiries@staffordshirelink.staffs.com to register your interest.

We would like to thank all those who have contributed to the voting consultation.

The on-line voting poll has now closed.  The home page of the LINk website shows the results of the on-line voting by indicating the percentage of votes given to each theme.  These results will now be added to the AGM votes and paper votes which were received by 19th July 2010 and posted on the LINk website home page for information.

A free drop in event is being held a the Postgraduate centre Stafford Hospital, Weston Road, Stafford on Tuesday 27th July from 3.00pm - 7.00pm for anyone interested in finding out more about what social media can do for you and anything you are concerned about.  It is also an opportunity to talk to people who can help you with setting up your own on-line presence on an active Hyperlocal site. 

Will Perrin, a nationally recognised expert on Hyperlocal websites, from “Talk about Local”, and a number of people from successful community websites in Stoke will be giving a presentation at 3.15pm.  Free advice from people who know what tools the internet can offer will also be available.  For more details please contact Diana Smith on 01785 255974 or email at diana.m.smith@talk21.com

The latest newsletter from West Midlands Ambulance Service is available and can be downloaded by clicking here.

Read the latest news and information from the Trust including bye bye SOH, hello QEHB, frequent 999 callers, staff thanked by Mum, para rescues three from fire, “Mr Reliable” retires, “Grab, Pull, Click” and much much more.

Secretary of State for Health Andrew Lansley today set out the Government’s ambitious plans to reform the NHS during this Parliament and for the long-term.

The White Paper ‘Equity and Excellence:  Liberating the NHS’ published today, details how power will be devolved from Whitehall to patients and professionals.   Professionals will be free to focus on improving health outcomes so that these are amongst the best in the world.  Improving the quality of care will become the main purpose of the NHS.  Patients will get more choice and control, backed by an information revolution, so that services are more responsive to patients and designed around them rather than patients having to fit around services.  The principle will be “no decision about me without me”.

Under the new plans, patients will be able to choose which GP practice they register with, regardless of where they live, and choose between consultant-led teams.  More comprehensive and transparent information, such as patients’ own ratings, will help them make these choices together with healthcare professionals.

Groups of GPs will be given freedom and responsibility for commissioning care for their local communities.  Providers of services will have new freedoms and they will be more accountable. There will be greater competition in the NHS and greater cooperation.  Services will be more joined up, supported by a new role for Local Authorities to support integration across health and social care.

As a result of the changes, the NHS will be streamlined with fewer layers of bureaucracy.  Strategic Health Authorities and Primary Care Trusts will be phased out.  Management costs will be reduced so that as much resource as possible supports frontline services.  The reforms build on changes started under the previous Government.

The NHS White Paper is available to download by clicking here

Staffordshire LINk is now widely recognised across the Midlands as being at the forefront of shaping health and social care services.  The major turnaround has happened since an external hosting contract for LINk was terminated last December and support for the group was brought back within Staffordshire County Council’s Social Care and Health Directorate.  The first six months of the new set-up has seen significant results.  The number of local organisations directly involved with the LINk has gone from zero to over 200 and there are now in excess of 300 groups and individuals getting involved from all around Staffordshire.

As well as having a more prominent role in the county, the LINk is also doing significant work around dementia and stroke services, ensuring that patients and members of the public can influence the planning, commissioning and delivery of these services in the future.

County Councillor Matthew Ellis, Cabinet Member for Adults and Wellbeing, said:  “This is tremendous news and an extraordinary turnaround.  Many questioned my decision to start afresh with the LINk last year but the renewed momentum which that brought and the exceptional work since then of the volunteers and officials supporting Staffordshire LINk means it is going from strength to strength.  The tragedy around Stafford Hospital clearly shows the importance of tough but fair challenge to health and care services.  Not just from targets and data collection but from real people who use real services on the ground.  That’s where vital information lies and I’m certain that the LINk will continue to focus on that”.

And in a surprise move yesterday (Thursday 8 July) the ongoing EU procurement to find a new external host organisation for Staffordshire LINk was terminated by the County Council.  Instead, support for the LINk will remain within Social Care and Health for the moment.

Matthew Ellis made the decision because he says it would have been wrong to change the current arrangements with them working so well:  “I’ve terminated the tendering work for a number of reasons.  The remaining term on the contract finishes early next year and as the LINk is now working so well I believe it would be wrong to change the current arrangements.  And because of that progress there is an excellent opportunity to create a new social enterprise for Staffordshire LINk meaning it would be an entity entirely in its own right and totally free from any governmental interference.  I’ve commissioned that piece of work and it will be undertaken in partnership with the LINk, starting immediately, over the next few months”.

Matthew Ellis personally wrote to all LINk participants advising them of these changes in a letter dated 8th July.  If you would like to see a copy of the letter, please click here.

West Midlands Ambulance Service has developed a patient survey for anyone who has dialed 999 for medical assistance.  The survey will be another avenue (in addition to PALS, Complaints and Compliments) of measuring patient experience so they can improve the service that they deliver.

The survey can be accessed via the home page of the Trust’s website at www.wmas.nhs.uk - look out for the box which is illustrated below:

For anyone not comfortable with using the internet they can contact the Patient Experience Department on 01384 246 370 and request a paper copy of the survey or one of the team will be happy to talk through the survey over the phone.