In this month's edition...
Government public health and primary care appointment
Following Steve Brine's resignation, Seema Kennedy has been appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health and Primary Care. Ms Kennedy will have lead responsibility for Public Health England, the Food Standards Agency and NHS Resolution. The role covers eight policy areas: prevention and early intervention, health protection, primary care, NHS litigation, public health systems, international diplomacy and relations, major diseases and sexual health. Find out more here
Hearing from all carers
Carers UK’s annual State of Caring Survey is now open. Carers UK is asking all organisations that come into contact with family carers to help them encourage as many individuals as possible to participate in order to gather wide ranging evidence of the experiences of carers and build a case for improved support. The headline results will be published before Carers UK State of Caring Conference in July 2019. The deadline for responses is 24th May. Find out more here
Assembly to help deliver the NHS Long Term Plan
The list of NHS Assembly members has been announced. Building on the collaborative approach to developing the Long Term Plan, the NHS Assembly has been created to advise the Boards of NHS England and NHS Improvement on delivery of the improvements in health and care outlined in the Plan. The Assembly members are drawn from national and frontline clinical leaders, patients and carers, staff representatives, health and care system leaders and the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. Find out more here
Clinical review of NHS access standards
NHS England has published the interim review of the Clinical review of NHS access standards. In 2018 the NHS National Medical Director, Professor Stephen Powis, was asked to undertake a clinical review of standards across the NHS. The overall aim of the review was to determine if it was in the best interests of patients to update and supplement some of the older targets being used by the NHS. In his interim report, Professor Powis sets out a number of key changes, including shorter waits for a much wider range of clinical services, greater emphasis on standards that help improve clinical quality and outcomes. Read the interim report here
A holistic approach to good mental health in prison
Clinks’ Whole prison, whole person report looks at how a holistic (whole prison) approach can support good mental health in prison. The report sets out principles and recommendations towards developing a whole prison approach to good mental health for people in contact with the criminal justice system, especially those protected under the Equality Act (2010). In particular, the report highlights the role of the voluntary sector in supporting a whole prison approach to mental health care. Download the report here
Meeting the needs of older people in the criminal justice system
People aged over 50 are the fastest growing group in the prison population. Meeting their needs, both in custody and after release, is one of the most pressing challenges facing the criminal justice system today. It is set to become even more pressing as the population continues to age. Clinks' Flexibility is vital report looks at the role and the value of voluntary organisations in meeting the needs of older people who have offended and how, as the need grows, this value might be maximised for the future. The report also sets out recommendations for policy makers, commissioners and funders. Read the report here
Gypsies and Travellers access to primary health care
In their recent report, No room at the inn: How easy is it for nomadic Gypsies and Travellers to access primary care? Friends, Families and Travellers outline the findings of a mystery shopping exercise to find out if GP practices were complying with their duty to register people with no fixed address or identification. Gypsy and Traveller communities are known to face some of the most severe health inequalities and poor life outcomes amongst the United Kingdom population, even when compared with other groups experiencing exclusion, and with other ethnic minorities. Read the report here
Setting standards for the use of restraint
Commissioned by NHS, the Restraint Reduction Network Training Standards 2019 provide a national and international benchmark for training in supporting people who are distressed in education, health and social care settings. These Standards will be mandatory for all training with a restrictive intervention component that is delivered to NHS-commissioned services for people with mental health conditions, learning disabilities, autistic people and people living with dementia in England. Implementation will be via commissioning requirements and inspection frameworks from April 2020. Find out more here
Reducing inequalities for people with severe mental illness
Public Health England (PHE) has developed new guidance for screening providers and commissioners aimed at reducing inequalities for people with severe mental illness. Research has shown that people with severe mental illness die 15 to 20 years earlier from poor physical health than the rest of the population. The guidance, developed in collaboration with NHS England and screening and immunisation teams, provides national information, advice and support. Download the guidance here
What does co-production really mean?
The Win-Win Alliance has produced a series of short guides on co-production. DR (Disability Rights) UK is part of the Health and Wellbeing Alliance (HWA) working with NHS England, Department of Health and Public Health England. As part of their work with the Alliance, DR UK coordinate the user-led Win-Win Alliance. The guides can be downloaded via Shaping Our Lives here
How to improve access to services for disabled women
A Refuge for All is a project led by disabled women with experience of violence and abuse. The project has produced Shaping Our Lives A Refuge For All, a findings report and best practice toolkit to enable a user-led approach to improving access for disabled women aimed at service providers who want to achieve a high standard of service delivery for disabled women. Although this report and the best practice toolkit have been produced specifically for services working in the violence and abuse sector, the self-assessment templates can be used to make changes to other services that work with disabled women. Download the report and toolkit here
Building a voluntary sector consensus on health and work
As part of the Health and Wellbeing Alliance, the Association of Mental Health Providers has been working in partnership with UK Health Forum, Race Equality Foundation, and the National LGB&T Partnership in conducting a scoping and consensus building exercise around work and employees with long-term health conditions or disabilities. Download the framework and project report here
Transforming healthcare by working together
A new website, Transforming Healthcare Together, jointly funded by the Community Fund and NHS England has been set up to support social care and voluntary sector leaders to build relationships that will transform our healthcare system. The focus is on practical ideas and ways for working together to achieve joint action. The free support offer includes workshops, webinars, coaching delivered by The King’s Fund and access to a practice development network. Find out more here
New e-learning initiative for health and care professionals
Public Health England has launched new free bite-sized e-learning sessions, All Our Health, developed in partnership with Health Education England. The sessions are aimed at improving the knowledge, confidence and skills of all health and care professionals in preventing illness, protecting health and promoting wellbeing. Access the e-learning sessions here
Experience of Care Week 2019
Experience of Care Week [23rd to 27th April] celebrates the work that's happening across health and social care to keep improving experiences of care for patients, families/carers and staff. Throughout the week, NHS England will be taking part in social media conversations on experience of care, running webinars and getting involved in events across the country. Find out more and how to join in here
Webinar update on the NHS Long Term Plan
The Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Health and Wellbeing Alliance is hosting a webinar [9th May, 1-2pm] to update on the NHS Long Term Plan and the opportunities for voluntary and community organisations. In January 2019, the NHS published its Long Term Plan setting out the vision for improving health and care over the next 10 years. Clinks is pleased to see that some of the key issues we identified in our submission to the consultation are reflected in the final plan, including continuity of care for people entering and leaving prison. Over the coming months, Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (STPs) and Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) will be developing and implementing their own five year strategies to take forward the Plan in their areas. They are expected to engage with key stakeholders including voluntary organisations working in health and criminal justice. You can register for the webinar here
Health and wellbeing news summary
National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) has posted a round-up of news that’s relevant to voluntary sector organisations, as well as an update on the work of the VCSE Health and Wellbeing Alliance. Read the round up here
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About Clinks Health and justice bulletin
This regular bulletin provides Clinks members with the latest news for voluntary organisations involved in the health and care of people in the criminal justice system. It currently has 3,279 subscribers.
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