Shaping the future of care together

This Green Paper sets out a vision for a new care and support system. It highlights the challenges faced by the current system and the need for radical reform to develop a national care service that is fair, simple and affordable for everyone. Within the Green Paper, a number of consultation questions are set out inviting views about how the Government can make this vision a reality. The consultation will run from 14 July 2009 to 31 October 2009.

First specialist dementia advisors start work

People with dementia and their families will get more support throughout the course of the illness as the first dementia advisors start work. Demonstrator sites, announced by Care Services Minister Phil Hope, will open in 22 areas around the country. An additional 18 sites will test different kinds of support networks for families and carers.

The advisors will act as a guide to help people with dementia and their families navigate the care and support system throughout their illness. They will help provide easy access to care, support and advice.

Ofcom public consultation on single number for non-emergency healthcare services

The Department of Health asked the Office of Communications (Ofcom) to undertake this public consultation exercise on the introduction of a three digit number to support access to non-emergency health care in January 2009. Ofcom is responsible for allocating three digit numbers in the UK and ensuring this limited resource is put to best use. The consultation closes on 20 August 2009.

NHS Evidence

In High Quality Care For All, (published June 2008), NICE was asked to establish NHS Evidence.

NHS Evidence is a web-based service that helps people find, access and use high-quality clinical and non-clinical evidence and best practice. Built around a powerful search engine, the service consolidates information from a wide range of sources in one central portal.

NHS Evidence is designed to meet the needs of users across the NHS - clinicians, nurses, pharmacists and commissioners, among others.

Pandemic flu: ensuring the NHS is ready

This briefing looks at the planning that has already taken place and sets out what boards need to be addressing now ahead of a potential upsurge in flu cases in autumn 2009.

South Central performers' list event

Recently a performers' list event was held in Southampton for Hampshire, Southampton, Portsmouth and Isle of Wight PCTs. As well as PCT staff involved and using performers' list regulations on a regular basis, the workshop was designed to enable more senior managers and board members understand the roles and responsibilities of the primary care performers' list regulations and panels. The workshop included medical, dental, community pharmaceutical and optical case studies and gave delegates the opportunity to take part in a performers' list panel through role-play. Please contact your local PCCA if you would like this training to be repeated in your region.

Practice-based commissioning GP practice survey Wave 7

This is the seventh quarterly practice survey for 2009, covering a sample of practices from each PCT, conducted between April and June 2009. The aims of the survey are to get feedback from practices on their perception of the support offered by their PCT and on the clinical and financial engagement of practices with PBC. The survey is part of a group of indicators that will be assessed together to give a picture of PBC implementation.

A future vision for mental health

This report sets out a new vision for the future of mental health and well-being in England. It outlines the priorities that The Future Vision Coalition believes should underpin mental health policy for the next decade. The National Service Framework for Mental Health comes to an end later this year and the Department of Health is working towards a replacement through its New Horizons programme. This report is the result of the Future Vision Coalition's work on what the next stage of mental health policy should be. It sets out four policy principles and a range of actions for the short-term (one year), medium-term (five years) and long-term (10 years).

All about MEE

NHS Medical Education England (MEE), the body that provides independent expert advice on training, education and workforce planning for pharmacists, dentists, doctors and healthcare scientists, now has a website (www.mee.nhs.uk). The new site provides information about MEE's governance, structure and core functions as well as its membership, role and an indication of the areas of work it is likely to be involved in.

Primary care and community services: improving GP access and responsiveness

Part of the world-class commissioning suite of practical guides, this document builds on existing good practice within the NHS to support PCTs in improving the accessibility and responsiveness of local GP services.

Building Foundations: medical level 2

Following the hugely successful Building Foundations for World-Class Commissioning of Primary Care, NHS PCC has announced an intermediate series of events for primary care commissioners, primary care finance leads and directors, associate directors and heads of primary care. The programme builds on learning from the level 1 events as well as focussing on some of the key challenges for PCTs in demonstrating world-class capabilities. The events focus on procurement and system management, provider and market management, patient and public involvement in commissioning, and joined-up approaches to developing quality and performance frameworks. They also take into account the increasing difficulty of delivering value for money in a worsening economic climate.

• London - 24 September
• Manchester - 21 October

New guides for PCTs in producing PNAs

NHS Employers has produced new guidance and individual supporting guides to assist primary care trusts in producing or updating Pharmaceutical Needs Assessments (PNAs). If you are starting a new PNA the steps can be followed sequentially. If you are updating an old PNA or drawing from a range of existing documents, you can choose which individual guides are most useful to you. We will continue to update the guidance as more information becomes available. The guidance will support PCTs in developing robust PNAs.

Society launches updated CPD recording system

An improved Continuing Professional Development (CPD) recording system is being launched by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. This has been created as a result of feedback received from users of the CPD recording system, CPD stakeholders, along with the outcomes of the 2007-8 CPD pilot and the recommendations from research conducted by the Welsh School of Pharmacy.

The new version, named V4 online and 1.4 on paper, aims to simplify how entries are made and will make the review and feedback process more user-friendly.

CPPE and BNF e-learning programme

The Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education has teamed up with the British National Formulary (BNF) to deliver an e-learning programme to help pharmacists and pharmacy technicians assess the impact of changes to the BNF on their clinical practice. New elements of the programme will be released to coincide with the six-monthly BNF bulletin.

Salaried dental services benchmarking

PCC has received submissions covering 97 PCTs - or 64% - in its benchmarking survey of salaried dental services. The deadline for submissions is now past and data analysis is under way. Early indications point to numerous examples of innovation and good practice.

General Dental Council annual review notes 'year of challenge and achievement'

The past year has been one of 'challenge and achievement' for the General Dental Council in which patients' interests always came first, says the regulator's president, Hew Mathewson, in its latest annual review.

Dental Access Programme Workshop 2

Workshop 2 in a series of four is part of a package of support for local PCT procurements. Delivered by the Department of Health's commercial team it will cover the memorandum of information (MOI) and pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) process and evaluation methodology.

Dates and locations have been confirmed for most SHA regions. Details can be found on the PCC website.

New commissioning guide focuses on eye care

The latest in the series of practical guides from the Department of Health's primary care and community services team will be launched this week at a world-class commissioning event in the South West. The guide, which covers commissioning of eye care services, is supported by the RNIB, whose chief executive is expected to attend the event. Further details are on the events pages of the PCC website.

Optical regulator gets clean bill of health

The General Optical Council (GOC) has been judged to meet performance standards by the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE). The annual review of the GOC's work assessed achievements in core aspects of its work, covering standards and guidance, registration, fitness to practise, education, governance and external relations.

The GOC was commended for its system of identity checks for student registrants, and for taking action against an internet retailer selling contact lenses outside the requirements of the Opticians Act.

Primary care development & commissioning manager - NHS Gloucestershire

Subscriber only events

Other

Event open to all NHS

July 2009

• 16th: Birmingham: WCC Best Practice: Excellence in Governance - Holiday Inn Birmingham City Centre, B5 4EW
• 16th: EM: Dental Network - Holiday Inn Sandiacre, NG10 5NJ
• 16th: South: Equitable Access to Primary Medical Care Lessons Learned Event - Riverbank Park Plaza, London
• 16th: EM: Payments On-line Training (PM) - Holiday Inn Sandiacre, NG10 5NJ
• 16th: SEC Primary Care Leads July 09 - NHS South East Coast, RH6 7DE, Surrey RH6 7DE
• 17th: SW: World Class Commissioning for Primary Care Services - Cleve Hotel & Country Club, Wellington TA21 8SN
• 20th: WM: Dental Access Programme Workshop 2 - Crowne Plaza Birmingham, B1 1HH
• 21st: WM: Pharmacy Network Meeting - The Studio, Birmingham B2 5EP
• 21st: NW: Dental Access Programme Workshop 2 - Crowne Plaza Manchester, M4 4AF
• 22nd: SEC: Dental Access Programme Workshop 2 - Sofitel London Gatwick, RH6 0PH
• 23rd: EM: QOF Network - Holiday Inn Derby / Nottingham, NG10 5NJ
• 23rd: YH: Primary Care Policy Leads Network - Holiday Inn Wakefield, WF5 9BE
• 23rd: YH: Primary Care Pharmacy Network - Holiday Inn Wakefield, WF5 9BE
• 23rd: Ldn: Procurement Network Meeting - De Vere 17 Portland Place, London W1B 1PU
• 24th: London: GP Premises Forum - Hallam Conference Centre, London W1W 6JJ
• 28th: WM: Dental Leads Meeting - Crowne Plaza Birmingham, B1 1HH
• 28th: NE: Dental Access Programme Workshop 2 - Radisson SAS Durham, DH1 5TL

August 2009

• 3rd: EoE: Dental Access Programme Workshop 2 - Radisson Stansted Airport, CM24 1PP
• 6th: WM: Primary Care Leads Meeting - Crowne Plaza Birmingham, B1 1HH
• 6th: WM: Market Management Workshop - Crowne Plaza Birmingham, B1 1HH
• 10th: Y&H: Dental Access Programme Workshop 1 - Hilton Leeds, LS1 4BX
• 11th: WM: Working Group for Annual Medical Services Contract Review - Holiday Inn Express Redditch, B97 6AE
• 27th: YH: Primary Care Dental Network - Holiday Inn Wakefield, WF5 9BE
• 27th: YH: Primary Care Optometry Network - Holiday Inn Wakefield, WF5 9BE

For further event dates please see www.pcc.nhs.uk/events