Correspondence

Independent provider bulletin: November 2015

Published 26 November 2015

Applies to England

1. For action

1.1 What do you think of the first national whistleblowing policy?

We’re consulting, along with the NHS Trust Development Authority (TDA) and NHS England, on the first national whistleblowing policy. The policy is aimed at helping to improve services for patients and the working environment for staff across the health sector and follows Sir Robert Francis’ Freedom to Speak Up Review and the subsequent recommendations for the sector.

We’d like to hear your thoughts on our proposed policy as we work together to encourage a culture where raising issues at work becomes normal practice and where concerns are taken seriously, and investigated properly. We recognise that some organisations already have good policies supporting staff to raise concerns, but overall the standard is variable; having a single national policy should ensure a level of consistency across the NHS.

The comments we receive will help inform the final policy so please share this with your staff including local guardians, lead clinicians and non-executive directors (NEDs), who are identified as having an important role to play, as well as your and patients.

We intend for the policy to be adopted by all NHS organisations in England except for primary care providers. We also hope it will also be adopted by independent providers of NHS healthcare.

You can respond using our online form by 5pm on Friday 8 January 2016.

2. For information

2.1 Performance of the NHS provider sector in Q2 2015/16

The second performance report of 2015/16 shows that NHS providers – both trusts and foundation trusts – are facing significant challenges on both finance and operational performance against key national standards.

Figures setting out the financial position of the NHS provider sector show that it recorded a half year (1 April to 30 September 2015) deficit of £1.6 billion. While between 1 July to 30 September 2015, many providers struggled to achieve several key national healthcare standards.

2.2 Improving elective care productivity: our findings at a glance

Our new 2-page visual summary shows where elective teams can concentrate their efforts to maximise quality and efficiency. Improvements in these areas could improve productivity by 13 to 20%.

For more on our findings, read our recent report and supporting case studies.

2.3 Specialised services top-up proposals

We’re working to reform the payment system so that it works better for patients and the NHS. As part of this, we’ve published our specialised services top-up proposals which should make the payment system more accurate, transparent and flexible while also helping to realise the aims of the Five Year Forward View.

These proposals will see more services eligible for a top-up and an increase in the total value of top-ups. Please see annex 1 on page 15 for our preliminary impact assessment.

We, along with NHS England, will make a final proposal on top-ups for specialised services in the statutory consultation notice on the 2016/17 national tariff, due in early 2016.

This document is for information, and if you have comments on the proposals please email pricing@monitor.gov.uk.

3. Webinars

3.1 Improving payment for mental health services

The Five Year Forward View identified a number of new care models for NHS services. The vision also recognised that the way we provide and pay for mental health services needs to change.

We’re holding 2 webinars on this subject for the following roles within commissioners and providers of mental health services:

• finance directors, managers and others
• mental health leads
• commissioning and contracting leads
• analytical leads

Mental health payments: vision and approaches

Wednesday, 2 December, 12.30pm to 1.30pm

Why join?

Hear about the overall vision for mental health payment in the future, and outlines of the different payment approaches of capitation, and year of care/episode of treatment.

Mental health payments: implementing the new approaches

Friday, 4 December, 12.30pm to 1.30pm

Why join?

This second webinar will go into further detail about the 2 payment options, including how to adopt these approaches, potential issues, and pros and cons for each approach.

Both webinars will include time for you to ask questions of Monitor and NHS England staff.

Book now for 2 December.

Book now for 4 December.

4. External updates

4.1 From Health Education England (HEE): 2 new frameworks to share with your colleagues

District and general practice nursing service, education and career framework

Sets out the specialist knowledge and skills needed to deliver and advance in district nursing and general practice nursing. The framework underpins the shift from acute to primary and community care by setting out standardised roles and responsibilities, as well as providing practitioners with a career pathway.

National dementia core skills education and training framework

Developed by Skills for Health and HEE in partnership with Skills for Care, this is a comprehensive new resource designed to support health professionals and educators working with people living with dementia.

The framework sets out the essential skills and knowledge necessary for all staff involved in dementia care and will enable organisations to:

• standardise the interpretation of dementia education and training
• guide the focus and aims of dementia education and training delivery through key learning outcomes
• ensure the educational relevance of dementia training
• improve the quality and consistency of education and training provision

4.2 From the Department of Health (DH): hospital education: a guide for health services

DH has published a new guide for providers of health services explaining the responsibilities for teaching children in hospital when illness stops them attending school.

4.3 From the Health Foundation: continuous improvement of patient safety

The Health Foundation has published a new report that outlines their work supporting front-line teams in different settings, developing and testing approaches to making care safer. The report has some practical tips for colleagues working in both front line and executive roles.

5. Getting in touch

5.1 Questions or feedback

If you have any questions about the information in this bulletin, please email licensing@monitor.gov.uk.

5.2 News alerts

You can subscribe to Monitor’s news update service which is a convenient way for you to receive relevant information direct to your inbox.

5.3 Publications

All of our publications for independent providers are available to download from our website.

5.4 Our latest job opportunities

For more information or to apply, please visit our recruitment website joinmonitor.com.