NHS England has today published guidance for commissioners, GPs and providers to help them support patients to choose their mental health care. From 1 April 2014 patients with mental health conditions have had the same rights as physical health patients to choose where they have their first outpatient appointment. They are able to choose any clinically […]

On 16 May NHS England issued a letter and supporting appendices of guidance to Trusts with inpatient beds on publishing staffing data on NHS Choices. This follows guidance issued by NHS England on 23 April. The letter provides a number of documents to enable Trusts to deliver on the expectation of submitting their data via UNIFY. […]

Thursday 15 May 2014, at NHS Southside, London. Board meeting will start at 10:30am. Watch the live stream of the meeting.

Thousands of mental health staff will soon be giving lifestyle MOTs to patients as well as assessing psychological health to reduce avoidable deaths. Mental health trusts all over the country will now receive financial rewards for carrying out the checks, including smoking status, diet, weight, blood pressure, glucose and fats or lipids, and ensuring identified […]

The second wave of the £500 million ‘Integrated Digital Care Fund’, (formerly the ‘Safer Hospitals, Safer Wards Technology Fund’), opens to applications today. NHS Trusts, and now Local Authorities, can apply for part of £240 million of funding to digitise and integrate patient information across the health and care sector, driving improvements in patient care. […]

Specialised Services would like to announce the appointment of three new Clinical Reference Group (CRG) Chairs, these are: Dr Sean Whittaker for Specialised Dermatology, Dr Jeremy Kenney Herbert for High and Medium Secure Mental Health Dr Vinod Diwaker for Paediatric Medicine.

Improving medication safety in mental health is imperative, Dr Geraldine Strathdee stressed today. NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Mental Health said: “We must make sure we tackle the higher levels of mortality and reduced life expectancy in patients with mental illness and we are committed to pushing mental health to the top of the […]

Thursday 15 May 2014, at NHS Southside, London. Board meeting will start at 10:30am Watch the live stream.

Health care professionals and patients working together is recognised with prestigious prize. When doctors Anna Moore and Ed Mitchell approached Dr Martin McShane, NHS England’s Director for Long-Term Conditions, asking if he would support them to set up the Future of Health conference, little did they imagine that 18 months later they would scoop a […]

NHS England today clarified the future of its Choose and Book programme, following an article in the Observer newspaper at the weekend. Beverley Bryant, Director of Strategic Systems and Technology for NHS England explained the contract on Choose and Book – introduced in 2004 as a national electronic appointment booking service that provides patients with […]