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The new Congenital Heart Disease review: 32nd update

Since the publication of this blog John Holden has left NHS England.

Your feedback

We’ve been asked about our approach to consultation materials in languages other than English.

‘This has been a difficult question for us to resolve.  It is a sensitive issue, and of course we want to make our work accessible, but we do not have limitless funds to cover every eventuality so we have made a conscious decision not to commission translations “just in case” they are needed.   We will carefully consider any requests we receive for materials in alternative languages. Rather than translate a written document we would be more likely to offer an audio version of the narrated presentations we have posted on YouTube, in the specific language requested.  Advice we’ve received suggests that for the type of exercise we’re running, in general the spoken word is likely to be more effective than written communication when trying to overcome language barriers.  We are working with specific hospitals that have larger Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities to ensure that they are involved in the consultation and have the opportunity to contribute to the consultation process.  This is a shared responsibility – we will respond positively to requests for help but we need local hospitals and patient groups to help us reach the groups they work with day to day. The Race Equality Foundation have promoted the consultation to their service users and identified BAME groups that are keen to work with us further.

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Now that consultation is underway, I wanted to take this opportunity to describe how consultation responses will be handled by NHS England and our independent analysts, Dialogue by Design, together with what we expect to happen once consultation has closed. You can read about the process here.

Patients, families and their representatives

We are hosting a number of local “drop-in” consultation events suitable for all audiences. These events are designed to help explain the standards and answer any questions. The events will be ‘exhibition style’ which will include panel displays, audio-visual materials, and team members to talk to. To view a list of these events and register to attend, please use our online booking system. So far approximately 185 people have registered which is great news, but please do share the details of these events with your colleagues and contacts.

Please note that due to issues which have arisen at two of the venues we had booked, we have relocated both our Leeds and Manchester events to new venues. We have of course updated the online booking system and emailed all those people who had already registered, but once again, please do share this information with your colleagues and contacts. I apologise for any inconvenience; this was genuinely beyond our control.

Clinicians and their organisations

The next meeting of our Clinicians’ Group, chaired by Professor Deirdre Kelly is due to take place in London on 8 October 2014. We will share the agenda and papers for this meeting as soon as they are available.

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The next meeting of our Provider Group, chaired by Chris Hopson is due to take place in London on 20 October 2014. We will share the agenda and papers for this meeting as soon as they are available.

NHS England and other partners

Our Programme Board met on 23 September 2014 and the agenda and papers can be viewed here. A draft note of the meeting will be available in due course.

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NHS England has appointed Richard Jeavons as Director of Specialised Commissioning. Richard will establish the new national specialised commissioning function that has been proposed as part of NHS England’s Organisational Alignment and Capability Programme. This involves consolidating all existing national specialised commissioning staff in one directorate. Richard brings with him a range of experience in the health sector. He is currently Chief Executive of the Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP), which advises the Secretary of State for Health about disputed NHS service changes.

John Holden was previously Director of Policy, Partnerships and Innovation, since the publication of these blogs he has left NHS England.

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