DEVOLUTION
Manchester becomes first region to gain control of health spending Greater Manchester has become the first English region to gain control of its health spending, as part of an extension of devolved powers. The £6 billion health and social care budget has been taken over by the region’s councils and health groups. The Greater Manchester Strategic Partnership is now formed of 37 organisations including hospital trusts, NHS England, the 10 borough councils and GP commissioners. The group will make key decisions on how budgets are allocated and targeted at specific health issues, instead of decisions being made at Whitehall. The government has claimed the move will help integrate health and social care services and ease pressure on hospitals, while improving home care services for patients who need it. Lord Peter Smith, chair of the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Strategic Partnership Board, said: “I have seen firsthand the progress that has been made since the historic signing of the Memorandum of Understanding in February 2015, which took place between all the major public sector bodies of the region and Whitehall. “Establishing the new system has been the crux of our focus for the past 12 months and we have made unprecedented and unrivalled progress in this regard. Quite frankly, the progress we have made
has been revolutionary for the region and we are in a great place ahead of a new era for health and social care services.” Greater Manchester will remain as part of the NHS with nationally agreed targets, but leaders will be granted more freedoms and flexibilities to tailor their budget and priorities to the region’s needs. The Greater Manchester Combined Authority has said that this will allow health officials to respond to what local people want and delivered greater collaboration across public-sector services to improve services and ensure finances are sustainable. Ann Barnes, chief executive of Stockport NHS Foundation Trust said: “Our priority in Greater Manchester has always been to improve services and outcomes for patients. That’s never changed. But devolution will allow us to do things differently and faster. “For the first time, since the NHS was created in 1948, we will be able to join up health and social care services across our region. It should mean that more people leave hospital sooner and others avoid having to go to hospital all together. “Devolution ties Greater Manchester together for greater change. We know there are challenges ahead, but we’re ready and we’re excited.” READ MORE tinyurl.com/hz98wds
WHISTLEBLOWERS
NHS England guidance calls for GP whistleblowers by 2017 Draft guidance published by NHS England directs that all GP practices must appoint a whistleblower by April 2017. Under the plans, each primary care provider should provide a named individual which staff can turn to raise concerns and receive support. The guidance specifies that the new ’freedom to speak up guardian’ has to be ’independent of the line management chain and not the direct employer’. The guidance follows recommendations made by Sir Robert Francis in his report, Freedom to Speak Up, which investigated the culture of bullying in the NHS. Francis’ report suggested that the GP contract should include a standard for allowing staff to ‘raise concerns freely’. NHS England’s draft guidance instructs that each provider should name an individual, who is independent of the line management chain and is not the direct employer, as the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian; NHS primary care providers should be proactive in preventing any inappropriate behaviour, like bullying or harassment, or discrimination towards staff who raise a concern; and all NHS primary
care providers should review and update their local policies and procedures by March 2017, to align with the agreed guidance. Neil Churchill, NHS England’s director for patient experience, said: “This guidance builds on existing good practice, gives staff in primary care more options to share any concerns and sets out our expectations about how those concerns should be handled.” Dr Chaand Nagpaul, General Practice Committee (GPC) chair, argued: “The real elephant in the room is how we can whistleblow regarding concerns to the wider system problems GPs face, such as inappropriate demands being made of them – like being asked to arrange patient care and prescribe beyond their competence and being asked to take part in schemes with perverse incentives. “This focuses on the microcosm of the GP practice. The far bigger issue here is not being determined in practices but in the wider environment.” READ MORE:
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News
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NEWS IN BRIEF NHS eating disorder waiting times under fire An inquiry led by the BBC has collated data from 41 mental health trusts and has found that the average waiting times for mental health treatment for eating disorders in England varies from 20-180 days, depending on the trust. Data released as a result of the Freedom of Information (FoI) request found that 1,576 people have waited 18 weeks to be seen by a mental health specialist since 2012, while 742 have waited 26 weeks and 99 up to a year. Mental Health charity Beat has called for more investment in mental health treatment for eating disorders. The information showed that waiting times for outpatient treatment has risen by 120 per cent in some areas over the past four years, with patients regularly made to wait over 100 days to see a specialist. There was considerable variation across the country’s regions, with the average wait in Manchester reaching 182 days, while places such as Dorset and Dudley had an average waiting time of just 20 days. In particular, Humber NHS Trust saw a 165 per cent increase in waiting times since 2012, with the average wait for 2015 reaching 82 days. Out of the 55 mental health trusts, 41 responded, with five claiming they did not provide an eating disorder service at all. Commenting on the results, Manchester Mental Health and Social Care NHS Trust said: “Where urgent, patients are seen within approximately two weeks. Waiting times for therapy are longer than we would wish. If more services were commissioned, more services could be provided. The trust continues to work within tight funding levels and with increasing demand.” The Department of Health (DoH) said it had set a new goal to ensure 95 per cent of patients with eating disorders would be seen within four weeks, or one week for urgent cases.
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Volume 16.2 | HEALTH BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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