Search

Purpose: This study aims to critically examine the effects of COVID-19 social discourses and policy decisions specifically on older adult volunteers in the UK, comparing the responses and their effects in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, providing perspectives on effects of policy changes designed to reduce risk of infection as a result of COVID-19, specifically on volunteer involvement of and for older adults, and understand, from the perspectives of volunteer managers, how COVID-19 restrictions had impacted older people's volunteering and situating this within statutory public health policies. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses a critical discourse approach to explore, compare and contrast accounts of volunteering of and for older people in policy, and then compare the discourses within policy documents with the discourses in personal accounts of volunteering in health and social care settings in the four nations of the UK. This paper is co-produced in collaboration with co-authors who have direct experience with volunteer involvement responses and their impact on older people. Findings: The prevailing overall policy approach during the pandemic was that risk of morbidity and mortality to older people was too high to permit them to participate in volunteering activities. Disenfranchising of older people, as exemplified in volunteer involvement, was remarkably uniform across the four nations of the UK. However, the authors find that despite, rather than because of policy changes, older volunteers, as part of, or with the help of, volunteer involving organisations, are taking time to think and to reconsider their involvement and are renewing their volunteer involvement with associated health benefits. Research limitations/implications: Working with participants as co-authors helps to ensure the credibility of results in that there was agreement in the themes identified and the conclusions. A limitation of this study lies in the sampling method, as a convenience sample was used and there is only representation from one organisation in each of the four nations. Originality/value: The paper combines existing knowledge about volunteer involvement of and for older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report on the use and content of written guidance produced by mental health services in England and Wales describing hospital leave for informally admitted patients. Design/methodology/approach: Guidance on leave was requested from National Health Service (NHS) mental health trusts in England and health boards in Wales (n = 61) using a Freedom of Information submission. Data were analysed using content analysis. Findings: In total, 32 organisations had a leave policy for informal patients. Policies varied considerably in content and quality. The content of policies was not supported by research evidence. Organisations appeared to have developed their policies by either adapting or copying the guidance on section 17 leave outlined in the Mental Health Act Codes of Practice for England and Wales (Department of Health, 2016; Welsh Government, 2016). Definitions of important terms, for example, leave and hospital premises, were either absent or poorly defined. Finally, some organisations appeared to be operating pseudo-legal coercive contracts to prevent informal patients from leaving hospital wards. Research limitations/implications: Research should be undertaken to explore the impact of local policies on the informal patient's right to life and liberty. Practical implications: All NHS organisations need to develop an evidence-based policy to facilitate the informal patient's right to take leave. A set of national standards that organisations are required to comply with would help to standardise the content of leave policies. Originality/value: To the best of the author's knowledge, this is the first study to examine the use and content of local policies describing how informal patients can take leave from hospital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accessible Summary: What is known on the subject?: 'Leave' is a common occurrence for patients detained in mental health settings. The term covers multiple scenarios, for example short periods to get off the ward through to extended periods at home prior to discharge.Despite the frequency and importance of leave, there is very little research about how it is implemented and whether, and in what circumstances, it is effective.While there is legislation about leave in the Mental Health Act (1983) mental health services are free to implement their own policies or not to implement one at all. What the paper adds to existing knowledge?: The leave policies of NHS mental health services in England and Wales are highly inconsistent.The extent to which policies are consistent with guidance differs depending on which service is providing care. What are the implications for practice?: It is very likely that, because of inconsistencies between services and policies, practice also differs.Clinicians need to understand their responsibilities in the leave process to ensure that patients are supported in their recovery journey.Policymakers need to revisit leave policies in light of evidence from this study. Introduction: Considerable guidance is available about the implementation of leave for detained patients, but individual mental health services are free to determine their own policies. Aim: To determine how consistent leave policies of NHS mental health services in England and Wales are with relevant guidance and legislation. Method: A national audit of NHS mental health services leave policies. Data were obtained through web searching and Freedom of Information requests. Policies were assessed against 65 criteria across four domains (administrative, Responsible Clinician, types of leave and nursing). Definitions of leave‐related terms were extracted and analysed. Results: Fifty‐seven (91.9%) policies were obtained. There were considerable inconsistencies in how policies were informed by relevant guidance: Domain‐level consistency was 72.3% (administrative), 64.0% (Responsible Clinician), 44.7% (types of leave) and 41.9% (nursing). Definitions varied widely and commonly differed from those in relevant guidance. Discussion: Mental health professionals are inconsistently supported by the policy in their leave‐related practice. This could potentially contribute to inconsistent practice and leave‐related patient outcomes. Implications for Practice: To ensure patients are treated fairly clinicians need to be aware of their responsibilities around leave. In some services, they will need to go beyond their organization's stated policy to ensure this occurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term value‐based healthcare (VBHC) describes an approach to the organization and delivery of care that emphasizes reducing the cost of care while improving outcomes. This involves increased investment earlier in the care pathway e.g., in the prevention, timely diagnosis, and screening for complications in order to maximize the overall impact of care. Key elements of VBHC include the collection and interpretation of relevant data to drive quality improvement and appropriateness of care, a focus on a continuum of care from prevention through to complications, an awareness of the financial drivers of the cost of care and a recognition that meaningful outcomes of care are those that are important to patients. Although VBHC has its origins in North America and has mostly been applied to private health systems, the principles can also be applied to national health services. In publicly funded health systems, where resources are finite, VBHC initiatives aim to eliminate ineffective care that has no beneficial impact or added value for patients and to optimize patient outcomes by delivering care that meets the changing healthcare needs of a population over time. The National Health Service in Wales has established a VBHC Office and has begun to realize the benefits of adopting VBHC approaches. The Irish Health Service Executive (HSE) can learn from the approaches used in Wales. In this paper we explore some of the principles of VBHC through case studies from Ireland and Wales highlighting how national health services are using VBHC to achieve improvement in outcomes for people living with diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accessible summary: What is known on the subject?: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) is a new infectious disease that has spread across the world and infected a large number of people many of whom have died.People with moderate to severe dementia are at very high risk of becoming infected as the disease mainly impacts on older people with other health problems and once infected the person with dementia is more likely to become seriously ill than other people.To prevent infection, people are required to wear masks and isolate from contact with others. It is believed that these measures can reduce the quality of life and general well‐being of people with moderate to severe dementia in hospital or social care. This belief has not yet been demonstrated by research. What does this paper add to the existing knowledge?: We show that people with moderate to severe dementia receiving care on mental health hospital wards and subject to strict infection prevention measures can still achieve high levels of well‐being.We show that mental health nurses alter the focus of their care to deliberately overcome the challenges and particularly the restrictions on visiting by families. What are the implications for practice?: We believe that the changes in practice we observed can occur in other healthcare and social care settings and that whilst restrictions remain in place care staff can protect and possibly enhance well‐being for people with moderate to severe dementia. Introduction: The effect of coronavirus (COVID‐19) on people living with dementia is potentially severe in its clinical impacts. More widely, for this vulnerable group, the social restrictions to limit the spread of infection may be emotionally and psychologically damaging. Aim: To explore the impact of restrictions on well‐being for people with moderate to severe dementia in acute mental health hospital care. Method: "Dementia Care Mapping" was the observational tool used to determine well‐ or ill‐being. Observations were undertaken in two mental health hospital wards during a time of restrictions and the use of personal protective equipment. Results: We report levels of well‐being that are higher than might be expected alongside a change in the focus of psychological care delivered through mental health nursing interventions aimed at enhancing well‐being. Discussion—We postulate that mental health nurses faced with an unprecedented challenge respond by changing practice to mitigate for infection prevention measures and to compensate for family absence. Implications for practice: We suggest that the desirable enhancing actions by nursing staff which raise well‐being in these hospital settings are readily transferable to other settings that are aiming to maintain well‐being but also practising under COVID‐19 restrictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the British NHS the principle of exceptionality involves assessing whether a patient is sufficiently different from the generality of patients to justify providing a treatment, such as an expensive cancer drug, not approved for routine funding. In England, individual requests for certain high‐cost treatments are considered by local panels that examine exceptionality alongside treatment efficacy and cost as the main criteria for funding. This was also the case in Wales until September 2017. Our paper draws on audio recordings of panel meetings and interviews in a Welsh Health Board to investigate how exceptionality was constructed in discussions. It focuses on the problematic combination of different decision criteria in meeting talk, particularly regarding the discourses associated with efficacy and exceptionality. Exceptionality is a fluid category that raised questions about the evidence‐based nature of panel decision making. In particular, the paper discusses the use of subgroup data from RCTs and the difficulty of deciding how small a subgroup of patients should be before it is deemed exceptional. Determining exceptionality has been an important mechanism for deciding that a minority of NHS patients can still receive high‐cost treatments not routinely provided for all. As a neglected rationing mechanism it warrants sociological examination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performing female genital mutilation (FGM) is prohibited within the UK by the FGM Act of 2003. A mandatory reporting duty for FGM requires regulated health and social care professionals and teachers in England and Wales to report known cases of FGM in under 18-year-olds to the police. An application to the court for an FGM protection order (FGMPO) can be made to keep individual women and girls safe from FGM. This paper reveals the significant disconnect between the number of FGMPO applications and known recorded cases of FGM. The introduction of FGMPOs requires critical exploration as there is insufficient evidence to show that FGMPOs are effective in protecting women and girls from FGM. It is therefore unclear what impact, if any, FGMPOs are having upon the protection of women and girls at risk of FGM. The barriers to the implementation of FGMPOs and possible solutions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investment in early intervention by health visitors to support positive parent-infant relationships is a Welsh Government target. An initiative called 'Flying Start' (FS) employs health visitors to undertake intensive home visiting with families who have a new baby to promote positive family interactions. As part of this role FS health visitors utilise the Newborn Behavioural Observation (NBO) system to observe, assess, support and enhance relationships between parent(s) and child. A project was undertaken to evaluate implementation and make recommendations for future service improvement. This paper describes stage one of the project which set out to evaluate FS health visitors' views of NBO implementation by means of a questionnaire and identifies barriers and facilitating factors to its use. Stage 2 of the project was to identify how NBO use could be improved in health visiting practice, discussed in a further paper. Results revealed a majority of practitioners felt NBO implementation benefited parents and enhanced the parent-infant relationship. It was viewed as an important part of the FS health visitors' role. Barriers included lack of time coupled with chaotic home environments. Variations in practice were identified, contrary to local guidelines. Recommendations are made to enhance NBO implementation that include the development of an NBO champion to support practitioners and provide further training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NHS Direct Wales provides a single point of access where members of the public can telephone and seek medical support and/or advice. The service is provided for all the Health Boards in Wales by a single virtual call centre run from a main location in Swansea with 2 satellite locations. Patients in Wales can also access a local General Practitioner service during the evenings and at weekends, by phoning their Out of Hours service. The introduction of a '111' service is intended to combine these two operations on a pan-Wales basis using the existing NHS Direct Wales call centre and staff, with the existing Health Board Out of Hours 'hubs'. The merger of the two services is intended to improve the overall performance of both services. This paper focuses on the planned introduction of '111' in Cwm Taf and Hywel Dda University Health Boards. The purpose of the case study was to support the merger of the two telephony systems from both an organisational and service delivery perspective, by developing a Discrete Event Simulation to model the impact on service levels and staffing. In particular, to examine the percentage increase / decrease in the staffing requirements needed under partial or full integration of the two services. The results from the scenario analysis highlight that extra staffing resources would be required in certain groups (nurses and call handlers) whilst savings could be achieved in others, provided that there wasn't an increase in call volume after implementation of the new service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research goals were to obtain an understanding of who the users of e‐books in the NHS are, what they are using e‐books for, and when and how they use them. This article presents the methodology used and the findings from the research. It also explores the outputs and next steps from the research, both for the individual countries and collectively. The Five Nations group, (library leads in England, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Scotland and Wales) commissioned research into healthcare staff use and non‐use of e‐books to understand the behaviours, needs and expectations of healthcare staff and to identify shared challenges around e‐books to inform policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report on the content of local policies on engagement and observation written by National Health Service (NHS) organisations in England and Wales. Design/methodology/approach: Engagement and observation policies were obtained from all (n = 61) NHS mental health trusts in England and health boards in Wales via a Freedom of Information Act 2000 request. Data were analysed using content analysis. Findings: All organisations had a specific policy referring to either "observation and engagement" or "observation". The policies varied considerably in quality, length, breadth and depth of the information provided. Significant variations existed in the terminology used to describe the different types of enhanced observation. Inconsistencies were also noted between organisations regarding: which members of the clinical team could initiate, increase, decrease and terminate observation; who could undertake the intervention (for example students); and the reasons for using it. Finally, despite rhetoric to the contrary, the emphasis of policies was on observation and not engagement. Research limitations/implications: This research has demonstrated the value of examining local policies for identifying inconsistencies in guidance given to practitioners on the implementation of engagement and observation. Further research should be undertaken to explore the impact of local policies on practice. Practical implications: Local policies remain variable in content and quality and do not reflect contemporary research. There is a need to produce evidence-based national standards that organisations are required to comply with. Originality/value: To the best of the author's knowledge, this is the first research in 20 years examining the local policy framework for the implementation of engagement and observation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Wales Applied Risk Research Network (WARRN) is a formulation-based technique for the assessment and management of serious risk (e.g. violence to others, suicide, etc.) for users of mental health services. It has been gradually adopted as the risk evaluation and safety-planning technique for all seven health boards in Wales. The purpose of this paper is to examine the opinions of WARRN as used within these health boards. Design/methodology/approach: An online survey was disseminated to NHS clinicians in secondary mental health services to evaluate their perceptions of the use and effectiveness of WARRN. Data from 486 clinicians were analysed with both quantitative and qualitative methods. Findings: Results indicated that the overall impact of WARRN on secondary mental health care was very positive, with clinicians reporting increased skills in the domains of clinical risk formulation, safety-planning and communication, as well as increased confidence in their skills and abilities in these areas. Clinicians also reported that the "common-language" created by having all NHS health boards in Wales using the same risk assessment process facilitated the communication of safety-planning. Crucially, NHS staff believed that the safety of service users and of the general public had increased due to the adoption of WARRN in their health board and many believed that lives had been saved as a result. Originality/value: WARRN is perceived to have improved clinical skills in risk assessment and safety-planning across Wales and saved lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: Prudent Healthcare is a strategy adopted by the Welsh Government in response to the challenge of improving health care during times of austerity and when needs and demand are rising. Four principles underlie Prudent Healthcare: to achieve health and wellbeing through co production; care for those with the greatest health needs first; do only what is needed; and reduce inappropriate variation. For Prudent Healthcare to be implemented in Wales, it is necessary for health professionals to adopt these principles in practice. Objective: This paper reports a qualitative evaluation of clinicians' awareness, experiences, and views about Prudent Healthcare, identifying barriers and enablers to implementation from the clinician's perspective. Methods: Semi‐structured interviews (n = 28) and five focus groups (with 23 participants) were undertaken with a diverse range of health professionals working in primary and secondary care. Analysis was underpinned by the COM‐B model which provides a framework to understand behaviour change in context using three domains, Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation. Results: Clinicians reported the importance and challenges of accessing and sharing information and evidence to inform practice (Capability). Reduced staffing levels and service availability were highlighted as possible barriers to Prudent Healthcare implementation while multidisciplinary working and reorganization of staff roles and services were considered enablers (Opportunity). Finally, although the principles of Prudent Healthcare were broadly welcomed (Motivation), a lack of awareness of the initiative and the management of patient expectations presented barriers. Conclusion: While there was a positive response and widespread support for the principles of Prudent Healthcare by clinicians, increasing awareness of the initiative and improvement to systems to enable information sharing and the monitoring of patient outcomes could improve the consistency of implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose UK fellowship schemes have been set up to address low-level engagement of doctors with leadership roles. Established in 2013, the Welsh Clinical Leadership Fellowship (WCLF) programme aims to recruit aspiring future clinical leaders and equip them with knowledge and skills to lead improvements in healthcare delivery. This paper aims to evaluate the 12-month WCLF programme in its first two years of operation.Design/methodology/approach Focused on the participants (n = 8), the authors explored expectations of the programme, reactions to academic components (provided by Academi Wales) and learning from workplace projects and other opportunities. The authors adopted a qualitative approach, collecting data from four focus groups, 20 individual face-to-face or telephone interviews with fellows and project supervisors and observation of Academi Wales training days.Findings Although from diverse specialties and stages in training, all participants reported that the Fellowship met expectations. Fellows learned leadership theory, developing understanding of leadership and teamwork in complex organisations. Through workplace projects, they applied their knowledge, learning from both success and failure. The quality of communication with fellows distinguished the better supervisors and impacted on project success.Research limitations/implications Small participant numbers limit generalisability. The authors did not evaluate longer-term impact.Practical implications Doctors are required to be both clinically proficient and influence service delivery and improve patient care. The WCLF programme addresses both the need for leadership theory (through the Academi Wales training) and the application of learning through the performance of leadership roles in the projects.Originality/value This work represents an evaluation of the only leadership programme in Wales, and outcomes have led to improvements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It cannot be assumed by healthcare providers that transgender people routinely receive care and treatment that is of the quality and sensitivity that should be expected. In particular there are concerns from within the transgender community that they experience discrimination and disrespect from both individual practitioners and the healthcare system as a whole. This causes an avoidance of contact that is undesirable for both users and providers of healthcare services. Older transgender people are vulnerable to a range of mental health problems and, like all elderly, increasingly to dementia; failure to access specialist services in a timely manner may result in unnecessary distress and potentially to crisis. This paper reports on the use of an appreciative inquiry approach towards identifying the opportunities for one health board in North Wales to work more closely with older members of the transgender community it serves. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Adults accessing community mental health services are required to have a care plan, developed in collaboration with the person accessing the service. The variation in care plan templates in use in England and Wales, and their impact on care planning, is unknown. This study evaluates the community mental health care plan templates in use across England and Wales. Data were obtained from a Freedom of Information request to 50 NHS Mental Health Trusts. An evaluation tool was designed and used to extract data. Data were rated red, amber, or green against clinical and design standards. Forty-seven care plan templates were obtained. The clinical aspect of the care plan template had 60% adherence to the national standards, and the design aspects had 87% adherence. A 'high/low' typology is proposed against the design/clinical standards. The study identifies priority areas for improvement in the care plan templates as space to record the actions that service users and carers will take to contribute to their care plan, space to record the name and contact details for their care coordinator or lead professional, plus others involved in the person's care. This study was not registered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In 2005, the UK Department of Health recommended that a new role, the arrhythmia care coordinator (ACC), be created to guide patients through the diagnosis and treatment for arrhythmia. The belief was that this would improve the efficiency of care and improve their quality of life. The British Heart Foundation provided funding for 32 such posts, all of which were filled by arrhythmia specialist nurses, and commissioned an evaluation of the new service to assess its impact on patients. Aims: This paper focuses on the impact of the ACCs on their patients’ levels of anxiety and depression, hospital readmissions and costs to the National Health Service (NHS). Methods: From 2008 to 2010, using questionnaires, we conducted a longitudinal audit of the psychological status of the patients referred to the ACCs; we also assessed the ACCs’ impact on readmissions and cost benefits to the NHS using UK Hospital Episode Statistics. Results: We found high levels of anxiety and depression amongst patients. Nearly one-third were at the ‘borderline’ or ‘clinically anxious’ and 18% were at the ‘borderline’ or ‘clinically depressed’ level at their first assessment with small changes at follow-up. In arrhythmia specialist nurse sites, readmission rates were reduced by half. After deducting the cost of the ACCs and their support, the estimated annual saving was £29,357 per ACC. Conclusion: This evaluation has shown that the NHS saves £29,357 per year over and above the costs of employing a British Heart Foundation ACC and that all arrhythmia centres should be encouraged to employ an appropriate number of such specialists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This paper estimates informal care need using the health of the patient. The results can be used to predict changes in informal care associated with changes in the health of the patient measured using EQ-5D.Methods: Data was used from a prospective survey of inpatients containing 59,512 complete responses across 44,494 individuals. The number of days a friend or relative has needed to provide care or help with normal activities in the last 6 weeks was estimated using the health of the patient measured by EQ-5D, ICD chapter and other health and sociodemographic data. A variety of different regression models were estimated that are appropriate for the distribution of the informal care dependent variable, which has large spikes at 0 (zero informal care) and 42 days (informal care every day).Results: The preferred model that most accurately predicts the distribution of the data is the zero-inflated negative binomial with variable inflation. The results indicate that improving the health of the patient reduces informal care need. The relationship between ICD chapter and informal care need is not as clear.Conclusions: The preferred zero-inflated negative binomial with variable inflation model can be used to predict changes in informal care associated with changes in the health of the patient measured using EQ-5D and these results can be applied to existing datasets to inform economic evaluation. Limitations include recall bias and response bias of the informal care data, and restrictions of the dataset to exclude some patient groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review policy or guidance on the implementation of Section 5(4) written by NHS mental health trusts in England and health boards in Wales. Design/methodology/approach – A Freedom of Information request was submitted to all trusts in England (n=57) and health boards in Wales (n=7) asking them to provide a copy of any policy or guidance on the implementation of Section 5(4). Documents were analysed using content analysis. Specific attention was given to any deviations from the national Mental Health Act Codes of Practice. Findings – In total, 41 (67.2 per cent) organisations had a policy on the implementation of Section 5(4). There was a high level of consistency between local guidance and the Mental Health Act Codes of Practice. There were however; different interpretations of the guidance and errors that could lead to misuse of the section. Some policies contained useful guidance that could be adopted by future versions of the national Codes of Practice. Research limitations/implications – The research has demonstrated the value of examining the relationship between national and local guidance. Further research should be undertaken on the frequency and reasons for any reuse of the section. Practical implications – Greater attention should be given to considering the necessity of local policy, given the existence of national Codes of Practice. Originality/value – This is the only research examining the policy framework for the implementation of Section 5(4). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines adult social care policy in Wales. It argues that successive Welsh Governments have sought to develop policy which rejects the principles of marketisation and individualisation that have characterised the public sector policy of UK governments for decades, and upholds instead a distinctive set of socialist-inclined values. It assesses whether Welsh social care policy and legislation effectively diverge from the Westminster paradigm, and how Welsh Governments have dealt with the narrative of 'personalisation' which dominates social care discussion elsewhere in the UK. It finds that Welsh Governments have to date struggled to craft social care policies that incorporate their stated principles, explores the difficulties inherent in superimposing new principles on inherited policy narratives and mechanisms, and considers the implications for devolved policymaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: People with type 2 diabetes can enter remission but may relapse or develop legacy complications. This analysis assesses whether people with remission from type 2 diabetes continue receiving annual care processes recommended in national guidelines and the potential impacts of formal recognition of remission. Methods: People with type 2 diabetes with and without formal recognition (diagnostic code) of remission, and with and without evidence of remission (HbA1c < 48 mmol/mol without prescription for glucose‐lowering drugs in preceding 26 weeks), included in the 2018/19 National Diabetes Audit (NDA) for England and Wales were followed up to identify care processes received between 1 January 2019 and 31 March 2020. Results: Of the 2,822,145 people with type 2 diabetes in the cohort, 16,460 (0.58%) were coded with remission in the 2018/19 NDA. After adjustment for age, sex, socioeconomic deprivation and ethnicity, people coded with remission were less likely to receive each care process than those without such coding irrespective of HbA1c measurements (relative risk (RR) of receiving all 8 care processes 0.70 (95% CI 0.69–0.72)). For the 339,235 people with evidence of remission, irrespective of diagnostic coding compared to those without such evidence, the RR for receiving all 8 care processes was 0.94 (95% CI 0.93–0.94). Conclusions: People coded with remission of type 2 diabetes were less likely to receive diabetes care processes than those without such coding. People with evidence of remission had only a slightly reduced likelihood of receiving care processes. Formal recognition of remission may affect the provision or uptake of care processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contracting in the public sector is designed to enhance the accountability of service providers to their funders. The idea is that quality is improved by the use of service specifications, monitoring of performance and imposition of contractual sanctions. Socio-legal and economic theories of contract indicate that it will be difficult to make and enforce contracts to achieve this. The results of a study of National Health Services contracting in England and Wales are reported. We conclude that contracts alone are not sufficient to improve accountability – collibration of various regulatory measures (including more hierarchical mechanisms such as performance targets) is required. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses two issues related to the nursing profession in Great Britain including the role of National Data Guardian (NDG) to act as the independent patient- and service-user voice on the use of data from health and social care sectors, and the green paper published by the Welsh Government about the functions of the National Health Service (NHS) in Wales.

Introduction Effective communication is critical to successful large-scale change. Yet, in our experience, communications strategies are not formally incorporated into quality improvement (QI) frameworks. The 1000 Lives Campaign ('Campaign') was a large-scale national QI collaborative that aimed to save an additional 1000 lives and prevent 50 000 episodes of harm in Welsh health care over a 2-year period. We use the Campaign as a case study to describe the development, application, and impact of a communications strategy embedded in a large-scale QI initiative. Methods A comprehensive communications strategy guided communications work during the Campaign. The main aims of the communications strategy were to engage the hearts and minds of frontline National Health Service (NHS) staff in the Campaign and promote their awareness and understanding of specific QI interventions and the wider patient safety agenda. We used qualitative and quantitative measures to monitor communications outputs and assess how the communications strategy influenced awareness and knowledge of frontline NHS staff. Results The communications strategy facilitated clear and consistent framing of Campaign messages and allowed dissemination of information related to the range of QI interventions. It reaffirmed the aim and value of the Campaign to frontline staff, thereby promoting sustained engagement with Campaign activities. The communications strategy also built the profile of the Campaign both internally with NHS organizations across Wales and externally with the media, and played a pivotal role in improving awareness and understanding of the patient safety agenda. Ultimately, outcomes from the communications strategy could not be separated from overall Campaign outcomes. Conclusion and recommendations Systematic and structured communications can support and enhance QI initiatives. From our experience, we developed a 'communications bundle' consisting of six core components. We recommend that communications bundles be incorporated into existing QI methodology, though details should be tailored to the specific context and available resource. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A case study of hospital food procurement demonstrates how change is being brought about to meet the seemingly conflicting aims of sustainability and low cost within the perceived constraints of European Union procurement regulations. The Welsh government, a pioneer in embedding sustainable development into its constitution, seeks to put those principles into practice by using public services to support the regional economy. Eschewing competition, it has structured the National Health Service (NHS) to remain in public ownership, devolving delivery to subordinate bodies to meet patients' needs, whilst collaborating in the development of more integrated demand-side structures. A case study of the 2012 yoghurt contract demonstrates how the integration of the Nutritional Care Pathway (NCP), nutritional standards and an All Wales menu framework have enabled relocalization of the yoghurt supply chain, whilst enabling innovation further to support the local economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we revisit the notion of civil society in the light of recent attempts to privatize health care in England via the passing of the Health and Social Care Act of 2013. This legislation promises a re-commodification of the National Health Service (NHS) in England. The Bill was bitterly contested during its passage through parliament, most vigorously in 2011. Much of the opposition occurred at a time of widespread, global rebellion, most notably in the ‘Arab uprisings’ and through the ‘occupy movement’. Despite a plethora of protests, we argue, a non-porous boundary between what we call the ‘protest sector’ of civil society and the wider public sphere of the lifeworld has become apparent in England. A good deal of collective action, whether campaign-focused (like opposition to the Health and Social Care Bill) or more generalized (like rejections of corporate greed), has so far proved ineffective, at least in the short-term; no crisis of legitimation is apparent. We highlight a new ‘class/command dynamic’, leading to oligarchic rule, in the present era of financial capitalism. We use this health care case-study to re-examine the notion of civil society and its changing properties in what Castells calls a ‘networked society’. The contribution ends with a discussion of the role of the sociologist re-civil society and the advocacy of both ‘action’ and ‘foresight sociologies’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: HIV pre‐exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) involves the use of antiretroviral medication in HIV‐negative individuals considered to be at risk of acquiring HIV. It has been shown to prevent HIV and has been available in Wales since July 2017. Measuring and understanding adherence to PrEP is complex as it relies on the simultaneous understanding of both PrEP use and sexual activity. We aimed to understand the experiences of men who have sex with men (MSM) living in Wales initiating, implementing and persisting with HIV PrEP. Methods: We conducted semistructured interviews with MSM PrEP users in Wales who participated in a cohort study of PrEP use and sexual behaviour. Following completion of the cohort study, participants were invited to take part in a semistructured interview about their experiences of taking PrEP. We aimed to include both individuals who had persisted with and discontinued PrEP during the study. The interview topic guide was informed by the ABC taxonomy for medication adherence and the theory of planned behaviour. We analysed our data using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Twenty‐one participants were interviewed, five having discontinued PrEP during the cohort study. The developed themes focused on triggers for initiating PrEP, habitual behaviour, drivers for discontinuation and engagement with sexual health services. Stigma surrounding both PrEP and HIV permeated most topics, acting as a driver for initiating PrEP, an opportunity to reduce discrimination against people living with HIV, but also a concern around the perception of PrEP users. Conclusion: This is the first study to investigate PrEP‐taking experiences incorporating established medication adherence taxonomy. We highlight key experiences regarding the initiation, implementation and persistence with PrEP and describe how taking PrEP may promote positive engagement with sexual health services. These findings may be useful for informing PrEP rollout programmes and need to be explored in other key populations. Patient and Public Contribution: PrEP users, in addition to PrEP providers and representatives of HIV advocacy and policy, were involved in developing the topic guide for this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine has been made possible in part through the use of mass vaccination centres (MVCs). The primary legal framework underpinning the MVC programme is a national protocol enabling registered and non-registered healthcare workers to contribute to the safe and effective administration of the vaccine. The national protocol provided a vehicle for an innovative supervised student nurse placement within an MVC in south Wales. This placement, for undergraduate pre-registration student nurses, formed part of a service improvement project. Through student feedback prior to, and following, the short placement, the learning was unequivocal in terms of knowledge and skills acquisition related to safe and effective vaccine administration, with students providing clear feedback on the positive nature of the placement experience. A placement within an MVC offers a rich educational experience for student nurses, which as yet appears to be underutilised across the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Too many people living with chronic kidney disease are opting for and starting on hospital‐based dialysis compared to a home‐based kidney replacement therapy. Dialysis services are becoming financially unsustainable. Objective: This study aimed to assess the efficacy of coproductive research in chronic kidney disease service improvement to achieve greater sustainability. Design: A 2‐year coproductive service improvement study was conducted with multiple stakeholders with the specific intention of maximizing engagement with the national health kidney services, patients and public. Setting and Participants: A national health kidney service (3 health boards, 18 dialysis units), patients and families (n = 50), multidisciplinary teams including doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers, and so forth (n = 68), kidney charities, independent dialysis service providers and wider social services were part of this study. Findings: Coproductive research identified underutilized resources (e.g., patients on home dialysis and social services) and their potential, highlighted unmet social care needs for patients and families and informed service redesign. Education packages were reimagined to support the home dialysis agenda including opportunities for wider service input. The impacts of one size fits all approaches to dialysis on specialist workforce skills were made clearer and also professional, patient and public perceptions of key sustainability policies. Discussion and Conclusions: Patient and key stakeholders mapped out new ways to link services to create more sustainable models of kidney health and social care. Maintaining principles of knowledge coproduction could help achieve financial sustainability and move towards more prudent adult chronic kidney disease services. Patient or Public Contribution: Involved in developing research questions, study design, management and conduct, interpretation of evidence and dissemination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The DESCANT (Dementia Early Stage Cognitive Aids New Trial) intervention provided a personalised care package designed to improve the cognitive abilities, function and well-being of people with early-stage dementia and their carers, by providing a range of memory aids, together with appropriate training and support. This sub-study aimed to assess implementation and identify contextual factors potentially associated with participant outcomes. A mixed-methods approach was adopted alongside the pragmatic randomised trial. Data were obtained from intervention records and interviews with five dementia support practitioners across seven National Health Service Trusts in England and Wales. A reporting framework was constructed from available literature and data assessed by descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Participation and engagement was high with 126 out of 128 participants completing the intervention with packages tailored to individual participants. Misplacing items and poor orientation to date and time were common areas of need. Memory aids frequently supplied included orientation clocks (91%), whiteboards (60%), calendars (43%) and notebooks (32%), plus bespoke items. Intervention duration and timing were broadly consistent with expectations. Variation reflected participants' needs, circumstances and preferences. Qualitative findings suggested a potentially positive impact on the well-being of people with dementia and their carers. Issues associated with successful roll-out of the intervention are explored in the discussion. Successful implementation increased confidence in future findings of the randomised trial. Depending on these, DESCANT may prove a scalable intervention with potential to improve the function and quality of life of people with dementia and their carers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives We set out to characterize patient factors that predict disease activity during the first year of treatment for early inflammatory arthritis (EIA). Methods We used an observational cohort study design, extracting data from a national clinical audit. All NHS organizations providing secondary rheumatology care in England and Wales were eligible to take part, with recruitment from 215/218 (99%) clinical commissioning groups (CCGs)/Health Boards. Participants were >16 years old and newly diagnosed with RA pattern EIA between May 2018 and May 2019. Demographic details collected at baseline included age, gender, ethnicity, work status and postcode, which was converted to an area level measure of socioeconomic position (SEP). Disease activity scores (DAS28) were collected at baseline, three and 12 months follow-up. Results A total of 7455 participants were included in analyses. Significant levels of CCG/Health board variation could not be robustly identified from mixed effects modelling. Gender and SEP were predictors of low disease activity at baseline, three and 12 months follow-up. Mapping of margins identified a gradient for SEP, whereby those with higher degrees of deprivation had higher disease activity. Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic patients had lower odds of remission at three months follow-up. Conclusion Patient factors (gender, SEP, ethnicity) predict disease activity. The rheumatology community should galvanise to improve access to services for all members of society. More data are required to characterize area level variation in disease activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why you should read this article: • To learn about the differences between psychiatric intensive care, low secure and locked rehabilitation units • To understand how service provision in psychiatric intensive care, low secure and locked rehabilitation units has changed since 2006 • To gather information on the types of interventions offered by the different psychiatric intensive care facilities Psychiatric intensive care can take place in a variety of settings, including psychiatric intensive care units (PICUs), low secure units (LSUs) and locked rehabilitation units (LRUs). These units have a range of referral, admission and discharge care pathways, staffing profiles and core interventions. The aim of this service evaluation was to compare present provision in PICUs and LSUs with results from the first national survey of PICUs and LSUs in 2006. The service evaluation also aimed to define the role of LRUs. The authors used a cross-sectional, 'census day' questionnaire with six-month follow-up design. Overall, 111 NHS units participated in the evaluation. Results included that PICUs were smaller and usually had a mixed-sex distribution of service users; LSUs mostly comprised single-sex facilities; and LRUs mostly comprised single-sex units with a significantly longer mean length of stay than the other types of unit. PICUs primarily cared for service users exhibiting acute behavioural disturbance, first-episode psychosis or psychotic crisis and, compared with the other types of unit, more often used high-dose medication and electroconvulsive therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has placed increased demands on the NHS workforce, especially in medical and intensive care units. The subsequent redistribution of surgical house officers to accommodate this in a single-centre NHS hospital has possibly negatively impacted on the effective discharge notification of acute surgical patients. Methods: Discharge summaries of all patients directly discharged from a Surgical Assessment Unit were collected on the day of discharge and analysed to identify the date of completion and staff grade of the responsible clinician. Data collection was carried out before the initiation of lockdown measures and continued for a further three weeks during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic with an interventional period in between. A poster was created and displayed in areas where discharge software could be accessed. Results: In the initial audit, 36.2% of the 246 patients had delayed discharge summaries with an average of 7 days to complete. On re-evaluation, 45.3% of the 223 patients had delayed discharge summaries, taking an average of 12 days to complete. A survey conducted post-re-audit identified that the most common reason for delayed discharge summaries was due to time constraints associated with the increased workload. Conclusion: The reallocation of surgical staff in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has affected communication between primary and secondary care, with a rise in delayed discharge letters of acute surgical patients. Given the potential repercussions of these delays, healthcare systems should be aware of this consequence of the pandemic, especially in preparation for any resurgences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the decision by the Care Standards Tribnunal of England and Wales in 2015 to uphold the ruling by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to suspend the general practice of Mujib ul Haq Khan due to concerns about patient safety.

Background: Stratifying patient populations by risk of adverse events was believed to support preventive care for those identified, but recent evidence does not support this. Emergency admission risk stratification (EARS) tools have been widely promoted in UK policy and GP contracts.Aim: To describe availability and use of EARS tools across the UK, and identify factors perceived to influence implementation.Design and Setting: Cross-sectional survey in UK.Method: Online survey of 235 organisations responsible for UK primary care: 209 clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in England; 14 health boards in Scotland; seven health boards in Wales; and five local commissioning groups (LCGs) in Northern Ireland. Analysis results are presented using descriptive statistics for closed questions and by theme for open questions.Results: Responses were analysed from 171 (72.8%) organisations, of which 148 (86.5%) reported that risk tools were available in their areas. Organisations identified 39 different EARS tools in use. Promotion by NHS commissioners, involvement of clinical leaders, and engagement of practice managers were identified as the most important factors in encouraging use of tools by general practices. High staff workloads and information governance were identified as important barriers. Tools were most frequently used to identify individual patients, but also for service planning. Nearly 40% of areas using EARS tools reported introducing or realigning services as a result, but relatively few reported use for service evaluation.Conclusion: EARS tools are widely available across the UK, although there is variation by region. There remains a need to align policy and practice with research evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing upon data held at the UK's National Archives, this article focuses upon the introduction of Section 1 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1963, which allowed local authorities in England and Wales to offer material assistance to families in order to prevent children being received into care or to facilitate their return from care to their families. To understand this development, the article frames its analysis in debates about the nature of the intellectual basis of post-WWII social welfare policy in Britain. Locating Section 1 support in idealist thought, the article argues that it should be understood as continuing classical liberal concerns with responsibility, self-sufficiency, and independence and constraining the size and scope of the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public involvement in service change has been identified as a key facilitator of health care transformation (Foley et al., 2017) but little is known about how health policy influences whether and how organisations involve the public in change processes. This qualitative study compares policy and practice for involving the public in major service changes across the UK's four health systems (England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland). We analysed policy documents, and conducted interviews with officials, stakeholders, NHS staff and public campaigners (total number of interviewees = 47). Involving the public in major service change was acknowledged as a policy challenge in all four systems. Despite ostensible similarities, there were some clear differences between the four health systems' processes for involving patients and the public in major changes to health services. The extent of central Government oversight, the prescriptiveness of Government guidance, the role for intermediary bodies and arrangements for independent scrutiny of contentious decisions all vary. We analyse how health policy in the four systems has used 'sticks' and 'sermons' to promote particular approaches, and conclude that both policy and the wider system context within which health care organisations try to effect change are significant, and understudied aspect of contemporary practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Around one in ten adults take antidepressants for depression in England, and their long-term use is increasing. Some need them to prevent relapse, but 30-50% could possibly stop them without relapsing and avoid adverse effects and complications of long-term use. However, stopping is not always easy due to withdrawal symptoms and a fear of relapse of depression. When general practitioners review patients on long-term antidepressants and recommend to those who are suitable to stop the medication, only 6-8% are able to stop. The Reviewing long-term antidepressant use by careful monitoring in everyday practice (REDUCE) research programme aims to identify safe and cost-effective ways of helping patients taking long-term antidepressants taper off treatment when appropriate.Methods: Design: REDUCE is a two-arm, 1:1 parallel group randomised controlled trial, with randomisation clustered by participating family practices.Setting: England and north Wales.Population: patients taking antidepressants for longer than 1 year for a first episode of depression or longer than 2 years for repeated episodes of depression who are no longer depressed and want to try to taper off their antidepressant use.Intervention: provision of 'ADvisor' internet programmes to general practitioners or nurse practitioners and to patients designed to support antidepressant withdrawal, plus three patient telephone calls from a psychological wellbeing practitioner. The control arm receives usual care. Blinding of patients, practitioners and researchers is not possible in an open pragmatic trial, but statistical and health economic data analysts will remain blind to allocation.Outcome Measures: the primary outcome is self-reported nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire at 6 months for depressive symptoms.Secondary Outcomes: depressive symptoms at other follow-up time points, anxiety, discontinuation of antidepressants, social functioning, wellbeing, enablement, quality of life, satisfaction, and use of health services for costs.Sample Size: 402 patients (201 intervention and 201 controls) from 134 general practices recruited over 15-18 months, and followed-up at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. A qualitative process evaluation will be conducted through interviews with 15-20 patients and 15-20 practitioners in each arm to explore why the interventions were effective or not, depending on the results.Discussion: Helping patients reduce and stop antidepressants is often challenging for practitioners and time-consuming for very busy primary care practices. If REDUCE provides evidence showing that access to internet and telephone support enables more patients to stop treatment without increasing depression we will try to implement the intervention throughout the National Health Service, publishing practical guidance for professionals and advice for patients to follow, publicised through patient support groups.Trial Registration: ISRCTN:12417565. Registered on 7 October 2019. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for psychosis (CBTp) is offered to all patients with a psychosis diagnosis. However, only a minority of psychosis patients in England and Wales are offered CBTp. This is attributable, in part, to the resource-intensive nature of CBTp. One response to this problem has been the development of CBTp in brief formats that are targeted at a single symptom and the mechanisms that maintain distress. We have developed a brief form of CBTp for distressing voices and reported preliminary evidence for its effectiveness when delivered by highly trained therapists (clinical psychologists). This study will investigate the delivery of this intervention by a cost-effective workforce of assistant psychologists following a brief training and evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of conducting a future, definitive, randomised controlled trial (RCT).Methods: This is a feasibility study for a pragmatic, three-arm, parallel-group, superiority 1:1:1 RCT comparing a Guided self-help CBT intervention for voices and treatment as usual (GiVE) to Supportive Counselling and treatment as usual (SC) to treatment as usual alone (TAU), recruiting across two sites, with blinded post-treatment and follow-up assessments. A process evaluation will quantitatively and qualitatively explore stakeholder experience.Discussion: Expected outcomes will include an assessment of the feasibility of conducting a definitive RCT, and data to inform the calculation of its sample size. If evidence from a subsequent, fully powered RCT suggests that GiVE is clinically and cost-effective when delivered by briefly trained assistant psychologists, CBTp offered in these less resource-intensive forms has the potential to generate benefits for individual patients (reduced distress, enhanced recovery and enhanced quality of life), service-level patient benefit (increased access to evidence-based psychological therapies) and economic benefits to the NHS (in terms of the reduced use of mental health inpatient services).Trial Registration: Current Controlled Trials, ISRCTN registration number: 16166070. Registered on 5 February 2019. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare management recommendations of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines with the Kaiser Permanente sepsis risk calculator (SRC) for risk of early onset neonatal sepsis (EONS).Design: Multicentre prospective observational projection study.Setting: Eight maternity hospitals in Wales, UK.Patients: All live births ≥34 weeks gestation over a 3-month period (February-April 2018).Methods: Demographics, maternal and infant risk factors, infant's clinical status, antibiotic usage and blood culture results from first 72 hours of birth were collected. Infants were managed using NICE recommendations and decisions compared with that projected by SRC.Main Outcome Measure: Proportion of infants recommended for antibiotics on either tool.Results: Of 4992 eligible infants, complete data were available for 3593 (71.9%). Of these, 576 (16%) were started on antibiotics as per NICE recommendations compared with 156 (4.3%) projected by the SRC, a relative reduction of 74%. Of the 426 infants avoiding antibiotics, SRC assigned 314 (54.6%) to normal care only. There were seven positive blood cultures-three infants were recommended antibiotics by both, three were not identified in the asymptomatic stage by either; one was a contaminant. No EONS-related readmission was reported.Conclusion: The judicious adoption of SRC in UK clinical practice for screening and management of EONS could potentially reduce interventions and antibiotic usage in three out of four term or near-term infants and promote earlier discharge from hospital in >50%. We did not identify any EONS case missed by SRC when compared with NICE. These results have significant implications for healthcare resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professional control in the selection of treatment options for patients is changing. In light of social and legal developments emphasising patient choice and autonomy, and restricting medical paternalism and judicial deference, this article examines how far patients and families can demand NHS treatment in England and Wales. It considers situations where the patient is an adult with capacity, an adult lacking capacity and a child. In all three cases, there is judicial support for professional autonomy, but there are also inconsistencies that have potential to elevate the importance of patient and family preferences. In combination, they may be perceived by healthcare professionals as an obligation to follow patient preferences, even where doing so conflicts with other professional obligations. It is argued that a more nuanced approach to shared decision-making could help clarify the boundaries of decision-making responsibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: An observational study using routinely-collected health care data to describe the extent to which children and young people (CYP) with cerebral palsy (CP) can be identified and the prevalence of CP can be estimated. Patients and methods: Routinely-collected anonymized data, for CYP (aged 0–25 years old between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2014) were analyzed in two linked datasets, from England and Wales respectively. Datasets included National Health Service; General Practitioner (GP), inpatients, outpatients, and national mortality records. CP was identified using ICD-10 codes G80.0–G83.3 and equivalent Read v2 codes. Ascertainment rates of CP were identified for each data source and compared between countries. Frequency and consistency of coding were investigated, and prevalence of CP estimated. Results: A total of 7,113 and 5,218 CYP with CP were identified in the English and Welsh datasets respectively. Whilst the majority of CYP with CP would be expected to attend their GP, 65.3% (4,646/7,113) of English and 65.1% (3,396/5,218) of Welsh cases were ascertained from GP datasets. Further cases were identified solely in inpatient datasets (2,410 in England, 1,813 in Wales). Few cases were coded for CP within outpatient datasets. Four character codes that specified CP type were rarely used; one in five health care records were coded both with G80 codes (explicitly CP) and with G81–83 codes (other paralytic syndromes) or equivalent Read codes. Estimated period prevalence of CYP with CP was 2.5–3.4 per 1,000 in England and 2.4–3.2 per 1,000 in Wales. Conclusion: In England and Wales, coding of CP in routine data is infrequent, inconsistent, non-specific, and difficult to isolate from conditions with similar physical signs. Yet the prevalence estimates of CP were similar to those reported elsewhere. To optimize case recognition we recommend improved coding quality and the use of both primary and secondary care datasets as a minimum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Hip osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic musculoskeletal condition affecting 2.5 million people in England. There is limited evidence on practice in the United Kingdom (UK) by physiotherapists in the public sector. A snapshot survey was conducted in a limited time period to inform standard care in a trial funding application. Methods: An online survey was circulated using Twitter. Thirteen Tweets linking to the survey were posted over 6 days to gain a snapshot view of physiotherapy practice within the public sector in the UK. Results: Sixty-two physiotherapists from 25 counties in the UK and Wales responded. The median waiting time from referral to physiotherapy treatment was 5 weeks and patients were seen a median of 3 times. The median total number of hours treated was 2 hours, and the median duration time for treatment was 8 weeks. All respondents used strengthening exercises, 73% stretches, 50% cardiovascular exercise, 73% balance exercises and 26% proprioceptive exercises. Thirty-nine percent of respondents use both strengthening and cardiovascular exercises, and provide an education leaflet, as contained within National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance. Conclusions: This snapshot suggests that physiotherapeutic management varies widely across the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To deliver a patient-centred service, emergency departments (EDs) must be efficient, effective and meet the needs of the local population. This article describes a service redesign of unscheduled care in a hospital in Wales, which followed the principles of prudent healthcare to improve patient experiences. Extending the roles of nurse specialist practitioners was a major component of the redesign. Six working groups were established to guide the process, one of which was responsible for working cooperatively with the local community, which was concerned about perceived 'downgrading' of the ED. The service redesign was completed in 2016 and evaluation shows the target for patients being seen in under four hours improved from 88% to 96%, significantly more acute medical admission patients were discharged in less than 24 hours, and patient satisfaction increased overall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How often have you heard, read or even spoken the words: 'We must keep children and their families at the heart of everything we do?' Last month saw the publication of two reports each of which cast a critical eye over the experience of young people with complex health needs as they transition from children's to adult services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lymphoedema Network Wales has focused on maximising the impact of its service through the effective use of available resources to ensure high-quality and consistent care for people with lymphoedema across Wales. The aim of this evaluation was to estimate the economic impact of a national lymphoedema service on the NHS Wales budget. Work was undertaken to determine the care pathway within Lymphoedema Network Wales and develop a hypothetical ‘world without’ the service as a comparator. The four groups of patients that made up the pathways were group 0: ‘at risk’, group 1–2: ‘uncomplicated lymphoedema’, group 3: ‘complicated/complex’ and group 4: ‘palliative care’. Overall resource utilisation between 6 months pre- and 6 months post-entry indicated that there were significant cost reductions to be seen after lymphoedema service entry for all patients in each group. This evaluation provides estimates that suggest that the service is likely to be cost saving when people with lymphoedema are managed within Lymphoedema Network Wales rather than in a ‘world without’ the service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background A large number of people who experience a stroke are affected by dysarthria. This may be in isolation or in association with aphasia and/or dysphagia. Despite evidence highlighting the psychological and social impact of having post-stroke dysarthria and a number of clinical guidelines that make recommendations for appropriate management, little is known currently about UK service delivery issues relating to speech and language therapy (SLT) assessment and treatment for this group. Such evidence is necessary in order to plan, develop and research services for people with post-stroke dysarthria. Aims To gain an overview of SLT practices in the management of people with dysarthria after stroke in the UK. Methods & Procedures SLTs in the UK were asked to complete an online survey addressing referral patterns, caseload profiles, and their assessment and intervention methods for post-stroke dysarthria. In the absence of a national register of clinicians working with people with acquired dysarthria, a snowballing method was used to facilitate participant recruitment. Results were analysed using descriptive statistics. Outcomes & Results A total of 146 SLTs responded. The majority were employed by the National Health Service (NHS). Most patients were referred within 1 week post-stroke. Almost half the respondents did not regularly use formal assessments and the use of instrumentation was rare, including the use of video recording. The focus of therapy for mild, moderate and severe dysarthria did not differ significantly for clinicians. A little under half the respondents endorsed non-verbal oral exercises in rehabilitation. The survey demonstrated some appreciation of the centrality of regular intensive practice to effect change, but this was in a minority. Conclusions & Implications Through this research it became clear that basic information regarding post-stroke dysarthria incidence, prevalence and core demographics is currently unavailable. More embedded NHS SLT reporting systems would make a significant contribution to this area. A more in-depth examination is required of the natural history of dysarthria over the months and years following stroke, of SLT practices in relation to post-stroke dysarthria, with investigations to understand more fully the choices SLTs make and how this relates to available evidence to support their clinical decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes how the use of internal communication messages and channels contributed to engagement and improvements in health of NHS Wales employees who took part in a 6-month programme to improve their personal health. A mixed methods research approach was taken that incorporated a post programme evaluation survey and 13 semi-structured interviews conducted 9–12 months after the communication programme. Frequency analysis shows that email briefings, information on a website and text messages were the three most useful methods of communication for employees in this study. Information on the website, email briefings and regular recordings on the website were positively and statistically significantly correlated with a general health outcome. Three themes emerged from interviews: different communication channels appeal to people at a variety of levels; local support activity can enhance computer-mediated communication and social media; examples of real success stories are highly motivational. This study indicates that internal communication programmes that are based primarily on electronic and social media channels can be effective in behavioural change. However, this approach may not be appropriate for all employees as participants reported that they would like more control over the timing and frequency of communication, based on personal preferences and access and/or familiarity with a specific medium. A recommendation for practice is to provide employees with the ability to personalize channels and content. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background Core values represent a framework of guiding principles that can improve team cohesion and efficiency in an organisation. Aim To determine how well a medium secure hospital in South Wales is adhering to its identified core values from the perspectives of staff and patients. Method Focus groups were used to uncover areas of good practice in line with the organisation's core values and possible areas for improvement. Findings The core values are regularly demonstrated in the organisation with the perceived benefits of enhanced clinical care and strong cohesion among the staff. Conclusion Strategies to improve value driven performance include increased staff, collaborative risk assessment and management, and equal training opportunities for staff of all grades, qualified and unqualified. It is hoped that this project may encourage other services to think proactively about their potential core values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]