- 19 October 2006
- Our Health, our care, our say: making it happen
- The Department of Health has issued a progress report on the work since the publication of the Our health, our care, our say White Paper in January 2006.
The report sets out a “roadmap to achieving the White Paper’s objectives, and priorities for action.” Tools and key actions to support local implementation are provided.
The report details “some of the progress being made, such as trialling individual budgets for social care users, developing new approaches to prevention, and shifting care.”
- Please find the link to the new report and supporting information:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/NewsHome/NewsArticle/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4139936&chk=N4kXKW
- 4 September 2006
- The National framework for Pharmacists with Special Interests has been launched
- Under the framework and working principally in the community, experienced pharmacists will now be able to undergo extra training and become accredited as a 'Pharmacist with a Special Interest' (PhwSI).
Health Minister Andy Burnham said that the PhwSIs will “give patients more choice about where, when and from who they seek healthcare advice and treatment for things such as sexually transmitted infections, substance misuse and diabetes, or heart attack and stroke prevention through monitoring anticoagulation medicines.”
- ‘Modernising nursing careers – setting the direction’ has also been launched today, describing “the direction for future nursing careers with a series of priorities and actions”.
- For more information, go to:
- 29 September 2006
- NHS Employers and the General Practitioners Committee (GPC) of the BMA have announced “the process for the ongoing development of the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) of the GP Contract.”
- Birmingham University has been appointed on a three-year contract to “inform the ongoing review and development of the QOF”, working with the Royal College of General Practitioners and the Society of Academic Primary Care.
- “Led by Professor Helen Lester, the expert panel members will continue their work of reviewing the evidence base for current indicators. The expert panel will also consider new evidence-based elements for possible future inclusion in the framework as and when resources become available to support more indicators. At present, minimal change is expected for 2007/08.
- There will be a new approach to gathering evidence and engaging stakeholders. Professor Lester and other members of the panel will take oral evidence at a series of sessions to be held annually. It is hoped that by introducing face-to-face meetings organisations will feel better able to express their views on the future development of the QOF and that through discussions with the expert panel they will also improve their understanding of the working of the framework and the evidence base required. It will also enable the patient’s view of aspects of primary care to be taken into account when considering possible indicators for future development.”
- Please find links below for the joint NHS Employers/BMA release:
- www.nhsemployers.org
- www.bma.org.uk
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- 05 September 2006
- Health Minister Andy Burnham today announced the membership of an Expert Group to investigate clinical trials to the House of Commons
- The Chair of the group, Professor Gordon Duff, was appointed in April following the adverse reaction of six Parexel clinical trial participants to the drug TGN1412.
- The Expert Group is an independent scientific committee that will focus on the scientific issues arising from the TGN1412 incident and, in particular, questions arising about the implications of potential actions of such substances for future clinical trial design. It will determine its own work programme in relation to the Terms of Reference, which are:
- To consider what may be necessary in the transition from pre-clinical to first-in-man Phase 1 studies, and in the design of these trials, with specific reference to:
- biological molecules with novel mechanisms of action;
- new agents with a highly species-specific action;
- new drugs directed towards immune system targets.
- For further information on the members of the group and its activity, go to:
www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics
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- 30 January 2006
- The much anticipated Department of Health White Paper, Our Health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services has been published.
- The White Paper ‘sets out a new direction for the whole health and social care system…a radical and sustained shift in the way in which services are delivered’ and aims to:
- provide better intervention services
- provide patients with more choice
- tackle inequalities and improve access to community services
- provide more support for long-term needs
- A number of policies including Patient Choice, Practice Based Commissioning and the extension of the Expert Patient Programme, are reflected in the White Paper framework.
- For further information and to review the White Paper in full, please go to:
www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics
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- 21 December 2005
- Changes to the national GMS contract for 2006/07 agreed
- Agreement has been reached between the BMA and NHS Employers to develop the General Medical Services GMS contract, following the first part of a two-stage process. The updates will take effect from April 1st 2006. Negotiations for stage two will follow the publication of the Government’s White Paper in England on care outside hospital.
- The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) has been strengthened and improved to provide better value for money. New investment in enhanced services to support national priorities for patient services is also taking place. For England, this includes practice-based commissioning (PBC) (designed to encourage practices not yet engaged in PBC), offering choice to patients and adopting Connecting for Health’s IM&T programme. Details on country specific Direct Enhanced Services (DESs) for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are being finalised. In England, there will be a new access DES which extends its scope and a new independent patient experience survey that will trigger payments to general practice for access and patient choice.
- Nine new areas, totaling 138 points, are being introduced as part of the changes which include:
- Dementia (20 points)
- Depression (33 points)
- Chronic kidney disease (27 points)
- Atrial fibrillation (30 points)
- Palliative Care (6 points)
- Mental Health (new) (9 points)
- Obesity (8 points)
- Learning disability (4 points)
- Recording patient ethnicity (1 point)
- A further 28 points are being reallocated to existing areas. More detailed information on the QOF areas and indicators for 2006/07, beyond that provide in the attachment, will be available in early 2006.
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- 16 November 2005
- ABPI Announces Details of Updated Code of Practice
- Following a review of the existing Code of Practice, the ABPI have announced details of a revised and updated code which will come into effect on January 1st 2006.
- Key changes to the code include an emphasis on patient safety with companies required to include prominent information regarding the reporting of adverse drug reactions on all printed and promotional materials. Further restrictions have been placed on the relationship between the industry and healthcare professionals as well as a new clause concerning relationships with patient advocacy groups, which will ensure that their involvement with such groups is made clear.
- New rules will also be implemented to effectively manage breaches of the code with the updated version allowing for serious breaches to be advertised in the pharmaceutical or medical press.
- For further details and to review the full text of the updated code, please go to:
www.abpi.org.uk
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- 10 November 2005
- DH announce extension to nurse and pharmacist prescribing powers
- Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt has today announced extensions to nurse and pharmacist prescribing. From spring 2006, qualified Extended Formulary nurse prescribers and pharmacist independent prescribers will be able to prescribe any licensed medicine for any medical condition - with the exception of controlled drugs. The latest extension will enable nurses and pharmacists to prescribe treatments for more serious conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.
- However, the BMA has called for an urgent meeting with Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State for Health, to discuss the government’s proposals. Dr Paul Miller, Chairman of the BMA Consultants' Committee referred to the proposals as ‘an irresponsible and dangerous move’.
- For further information about the announcement, please go to:
www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics
- Comment from the BMA is at:
www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf
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- 03 November 2005
- NICE announce faster drugs guidance for the NHS
- NICE have today announced that they are launching the Single Technology Appraisal (STA) - a new rapid process for assessing drugs and other treatments. The STA will be used initially to produce faster guidance on life-saving drugs which have already been licensed and on new medicines close to when they first become available.
- The STA process will begin immediately for a number of specific cancer treatments.
- For further information, please see the link below:
www.nice.org.uk/pdf
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- 26 October 2005
- Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) announces improved system for people to report suspected side effects from their medicines to UK health watchdog
- The improved system will see patient Yellow Card reporting forms being made available in pharmacies, GP surgeries and other NHS outlets across the UK from next week. Reports on suspected side effects can also be made on the Yellow Card website at www.yellowcard.gov.uk or by freephone to the Yellow Card hotline on 0808 100 3352.
- The UK-wide pilot builds on the successful patient reporting pilot run from January which was restricted to certain parts of the UK, and the wide range of feedback provided from patients and carers in the development of mechanisms for reporting suspected side effects.
- For the full press release and links to further information, visit http://www.mhra.gov.uk/home
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- 18 October 2005
- The 49th British Film Festival opens with a screening of The Constant Gardener, based on a John Le Carré thriller.
- The movie is directed by academy award winner Fernando Meirelles ("City of God") and stars Ralph Fiennes ("The English Patient"). The (fictional) plot focuses on a young international activist murdered in Africa and her husband's determination to find out why. He learns that she had unraveled a British pharmaceutical company's scheme to test an experimental tuberculosis vaccine that causes miscarriages on African patients.
- Damon B Ansell, a co-founder of Uhuru Policy Group, in an article about the film, comments:
“Le Carré’s 500-page effort to blame drug companies for our global failure to address African disease epidemics is not all that original. Instead, this kind of blame is a convenient way of distorting the truth…In my father's house in Karen, Kenya, a suburb of Nairobi, we have several Le Carré novels on our shelves. I enjoy his spy novels, but I am disappointed that he has so poorly misrepresented Africa's greatest tragedies.”
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- 26 September 2005
- NICE plans faster drugs guidance for the NHS
- NICE is now in discussion with the Department of Health over proposals for a revised process allowing more rapid appraisal of important new drugs and health technologies. In selected cases, this would allow NICE to issue guidance shortly after a drug becomes available for use in the NHS.
- For further information, please see the link below:
www.nice.org.uk/pdf
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- 01 September 2005
- Government Response to the Health Committee's Report on the Influence of the Pharmaceutical Industry
- Quoting the Department of Health website:
“The House of Common's Health Committee published its report on the Influence of the Pharmaceutical Industry on 5 April 2005. This Command Paper sets out the Government's response to the recommendations in that report.
- The pharmaceutical industry is an important sector for the UK. It has an outstanding record of innovation for the benefit of patients and of course, investment in the economy. It has long been the Government's policy that dealings with the industry must be balanced and appropriate with an aim of securing beneficial outcomes for patients and the economy. This comprehensive investigation by the Committee has provided the opportunity for the Government to review its policies on how it relates to industry to ensure that they remain appropriate for today's environment.”
- To access the full response, click on the link below:
www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics
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