NHS England has today said it will continue to make sure everything possible is being done to ensure safe emergency care is being provided and to minimise the impact of the action. But it once again expresses regret for the disruption patients will face and the fact that thousands of planned procedures will have to […]

The National Congenital Heart Disease Audit has been published by The National Institute for Cardiovascular Outcomes Research (NICOR) and shows very good outcomes for congenital heart surgical operations as well as improvements in antenatal detection of infant heart problems. Responding to the audit, Michael Wilson, Programme Director for the Congenital Heart Disease Programme said: “NHS […]

NHS England launched (04 April 2016) a 30 day public consultation on a number of proposed new products for specialised services (including service specifications and clinical commissioning policies), in an addition a 60 day public consultation has also been launched for the use of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy clinical commissioning policy. There has already been extensive […]

NHS England is today taking significant steps to make it easier for primary care staff to raise their concerns so that action can be taken and improvements made. Firstly new whistleblowing guidance has been drawn up which will now be consulted on for the next five weeks.  The guidance comes after Sir Robert Francis recommended […]

NHS England has today launched a new Improvement and Assessment Framework for Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), which will include ratings published online to show patients how their local health service is performing in six important areas. From June, an initial assessment of CCG performance will be available online that will cover six crucial areas including […]

A stage one warning has been issued around the prioritisation of general practice home visits. Risk of death from failure to prioritise home visits in general practice When a request for a home visit is made, it is vital that general practices have a system in place to assess: whether a home visit is clinically necessary […]

A patient safety alert has been issued by NHS England around the prioritisation of general practice home visits. When a request for a home visit is made, it is vital that general practices have a system in place to assess: whether a home visit is clinically necessary; and the urgency of need for medical attention. […]

NHS England has developed an updated version of the MAG form for use by doctors for their medical appraisal from April 2016. Why an updated MAG form? The form has been updated for a number of practical reasons: In response to feedback received since the original form was launched in 2012 – to improve the […]

NHS England is today unveiling a comprehensive package of measures aimed at clamping down on conflicts of interest and ensuring the NHS is one of the leading healthcare organisations in the world in tackling such issues. The plans are designed to bring a stronger, more consistent approach to managing potential and existing conflicts of interest […]

Today (31 March) we published our Business Plan for 2016/17 which builds on three guiding principles which will shape our work in the year ahead: Constancy of purpose and priorities Coherent national support for locally led improvement Solve today’s issues by accelerating tomorrow’s solutions There is strong continuity in our 10 business plan priorities for […]