PA Health Newsletter - May 2013

HEALTH PUBLIC AFFAIRS &

MARKET ACCESS

May 2013

uk health monitor Policy & NHS Developments While it is known that new technologies have huge potential to boost patient health and boost productivity within the NHS, there is growing concern that these benefits are not reaching patients quickly enough.

A central role of the NTAC’s work was to link with industry and the NHS and support products assessed by NICE’s Medical Technologies guidance programme. Having received Department of Health approval, the team will now join the Institute to become the Health Technologies Adoption Programme, as recommended by the government’s 2011 Innovation Health and Wealth report.

NICE to support spread of technology in NHS The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has had its remit widened to help encourage and accelerate the uptake of innovative technologies throughout the National Health Service. NHS England have recently commissioned the Institute to take over the work of the NHS Technology Adoption Centre (NTAC), which was set up in 2007 to assist organisations in overcoming obstacles to adopting new technologies.

NICE’s new programme will look to develop adoption guides describing how NHS organisations can introduce specific technologies into routine clinical use in a sustainable manner. It will also help suppliers in the medical technologies and diagnostics industry better get to grips with the complex NHS landscape, by working with the Institute’s existing scientific advice programme to offer consultancy and guidance to those whose products have already demonstrated benefits and could improve NHS efficiency.

Department of Health Publishes Details of Ring Fenced Public Health Grants

ranging from adult social care to transport, housing, planning and environment.

The Department of Health has published details on the 2013-14 and 2014-15 ring-fenced grants allocated to local authorities for their public health responsibilities. It is hoped that the announced allocations will provide local authorities with greater certainty on future resources, enabling them to plan for initiatives that may be better delivered across more than one year term.

The grants for 2013-14 and 2014-15 provide local authorities with £2.66 billion and £2.79 billion to spend on public health services.

This Government has communicated an ambitious vision to help people live longer, healthier and more fulfilling lives, and to improve the health of the most vulnerable fastest. They consider local leadership to be critical in achieving this vision and plan for local authorities, under the direction of Directors of Public Health, to be the leaders who will drive improvements within the new public health system. It will be their responsibility to tackle the wider determinants of health at a local level, putting people’s health and wellbeing at the heart of everything

EDELMAN HEALTH PUBLIC AFFAIRS & MARKET ACCESS | MAY 2013

1

HEALTH PUBLIC AFFAIRS &

MARKET ACCESS

Care Bill Published In May the Government published the Care Bill. The Bill introduces legislation to provide protection and support to those people who need it most and to take forward elements of the government’s initial response to the Francis Inquiry. It is hoped that the Bill will provide people with peace of mind and an assurance that they will be treated with compassion when in hospital, care homes or their own home.

Within this it sets out Ofsted-style ratings for hospitals and care homes so that patients and the public can compare organisations or services in a fair and balanced way and make informed choices about where to go.

It will also enable the new Chief Inspector of Hospitals, appointed by the Care Quality Commission, to trigger a process to deal with unresolved problems with the quality of care more effectively.

Essentially the Bill is split into 3 parts:

Reform of care and support The Bill brings together existing care and support legislation into a new, modern set of laws and builds the system around people’s wellbeing, needs and goals.

It sets out new rights for carers, emphasises the need to prevent and reduce care and support needs, and introduces a national eligibility threshold for care and support.

It also introduces a cap on the costs that people will have to pay for care and sets out a universal deferred payment scheme so that people will not have to sell their home in their lifetime to pay for residential care costs.

Response to the Francis Inquiry on failings at Mid-Staffordshire Hospital The Report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry, led by Robert Francis QC, identified huge failures across the health and care system which must not be repeated again. The Bill is tasked with delivering the Government’s commitment to ensure patients are the first and foremost consideration of the system and everyone who works within it moving forwards.

Health Education England and the Health Research Authority The Bill also establishes Health Education England (HEE) and the Health Research Authority (HRA) as statutory nondepartmental public bodies, giving them the impartiality and stability they need to carry out their roles in improving education and training for healthcare professionals, and protecting the interests of people in health and social care research.

Care Quality Commission – Raising standards, putting people first The Care Quality Commission has set out a strategy for how it will inspect and regulate health and social care services over the next three years, to make sure they are providing safe, effective, compassionate, and high-quality care, and also how it will encourage service improvement.

CQC’s focus over the next three years is based on six principles: better use of information and inspection; working better with partners in the health and social care system; building better relationships with the public; building relationships with organisations that it regulates; strengthening how CQC delivers on its mental health responsibilities; and building a high-performing organisation. The changes include appointing chief inspectors of hospitals and social care support, developing new fundamental standards of care; and publishing better information for the public, including ratings of services.

EDELMAN HEALTH PUBLIC AFFAIRS & MARKET ACCESS | MAY 2013

2

HEALTH PUBLIC AFFAIRS &

MARKET ACCESS

Health in Politics Labour Whole Person Care Review Labour Leader Ed Miliband has announced the launch of an independent commission to examine how health and social care can be better integrated, with the aim of making the NHS more financially sustainable through achieving efficiencies. The commission is to be led by Sir John Oldham, who previously acted as efficiency tsar at the Department of Health.

Full details of the new commission’s timetable have yet to be unveiled, but it is expected to report its initial findings in a year’s time.

Announcing the new commission, Ed Miliband cited figures from the Nuffield Trust, which he said suggested that unless there were improvements to the way in which services were delivered, growing care needs would produce a shortfall within the NHS budget of up to £29 billion a year by 2020. The Labour Leader said any organisational changes would represent the reforms that NHS professionals genuinely wanted as opposed to reforms imposed by former health secretary Andrew Lansley. Miliband also alleged the Government’s reforms to the health service were putting the financial sustainability of the NHS at risk.

The launch of the commission was preceded by Shadow Health Secretary, Andy Burnham using a speech to the King’s Fund in January to suggest that Health and Wellbeing boards should take over the health budgets from Clinical Commissioning Groups to integrate the system. In January, Labour also launched the review of health and care policy, from which the notion of “WholePerson Care” emerged as a key theme.

Health Moves and Appointments London Mayor to head new Health Board The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson will head a new strategic Health Board for London that will be charged with bringing together a range of experts to address Londoners’ health needs and promote the life sciences sector within the capital.

Other members of the Board include council leaders and representatives from the health sector including GPs and doctors. The Board will meet for the first time later this month.

The new Board forms part of a package of health initiatives announced by the Mayor, including funding grassroots sport, backing healthy school breakfasts, launching take away tool kits, tackling alcohol misuse, and providing cancer information in communities.

EDELMAN HEALTH PUBLIC AFFAIRS & MARKET ACCESS | MAY 2013

Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) Announced The Department of Health has announced the appointment of five new members to the Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP). The new members of the panel will take up their posts from May and will be expected to provide ministers with independent expert advice on proposed changes to the NHS. Those appointed to the panel were Dr Shera Chok (Director of Primary Care, Barts Health NHS Trust), Shane Duffy (Consultant Obstetrician and Gynecologist, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust), Theresa Green, Rosemary Granger (Director, Granger Coaching and Consultancy Ltd) and Linn Phipps (Lay Member, NHS Advisory Group for National Specialised Services).

3

HEALTH PUBLIC AFFAIRS &

MARKET ACCESS

Reports and Publications The King’s Fund – How should we pay for health care in the future?

The King’s Fund has published a report entitled ‘How should we pay for health care in the future?’.

Building on earlier research which examined current trends and confirmed that health and social care is planned to consume half of all government spending in 50 years’ time, the Kings Fund worked in partnership with Ipsos MORI to survey the public on their views on possible solutions.

The report’s overall conclusion is that the public are still committed to the fundamental principles underpinning the NHS but under certain circumstances would support the introduction of charges for some treatments and services.

Anna Dixon, Director of Policy at The King’s Fund, called for a public debate about how much should be spent on the NHS.

The findings confirm that the public widely agreed that access to health care should continue to be based on need rather than ability to pay, and rejected means testing as a way of controlling future spending. The report also found that clinical care should not be compromised to reduce costs.

Nuffield Trust – The NHS in numbers: performance in the boom years The Nuffield Trust has published data on healthcare spending, activity, resources and performances from the late 1990s to the early 2010s, reflecting the latest data publicly available from official sources.

During this period NHS spending rose at its fastest ever rate, and simultaneously, the number of people accessing healthcare increased. But the Trust says spending would have in fact been far greater had it not been for other changes happening concurrently. For instance, attempts to reduce time patients spend in hospitals caused the length of stay to fall.

KPMG – Something to teach, Something to learn: Global perspectives on healthcare KPMG has released a report that examines the challenges facing international health systems. The report’s insights come from a conference in 2012 that garnered the insights of leading practitioners from twenty-two countries. Although the report looks at the problems facing different healthcare systems across the world, it also examined the paradox that while nearly all the delegates said they anticipated change in the next five years, too many systems were still acting as if these changes “only affect other people”.

The report therefore calls on leaders to focus on courageous leadership to enforce “major transformational change”. Without this, the commercial survival and future competitiveness of organisations is at stake. The report says all countries must act now and provides a series of actions for payers and providers including investing in teaching and learning, building networks, and finding new ways to connect to patients.

EDELMAN HEALTH PUBLIC AFFAIRS & MARKET ACCESS | MAY 2013

Although it is difficult to assess how effective investment in healthcare has been, one yardstick that is frequently used is the mortality rate. This fell by over one-third in the decade preceding 2010, with roughly 21,000 fewer deaths in England in 2010 from causes considered treatable, compared with 2001.

However, the Spending Review in 2010 halted the period of rapid funding growth for the NHS. The Trust says that if the recent pattern of activity continues and efficiency savings are not achieved then the NHS will face a shortfall of around £50 billion by 2021/22. The Trust’s report therefore advocates investment in and reform of primary care, and a focus on prevention to stop the decline in the quality or availability of NHS care.

About us This Health Monitor has been produced by Edelman’s UK Health Public Affairs and Market Access Team. A specialist team of political consultants, skilled in health policy, political advocacy, stakeholder relations, regulatory affairs and reputation management. Working as part of a global award winning integrated communications agency, Edelman’s Health Public Affairs and Market Access Team is uniquely positioned to offer clients access to innovative, full-spectrum communication strategies, which draw on the very best experience of our resident Health, Consumer PR, Corporate, Medical Education and Digital Health Teams – spanning disciplines and geographical locations where necessary.

For more information or an informal conversation about your organizational requirements, please contact: Camilla Horwood Head of Health Public Affairs and Market Access UK Tel: 0203 0470 2072, Email: camilla.horwood@edelman.com

4