Improving lives

The Government has launched a Green Paper, 'Improving Lives': a consultation on disability, health and work. They are seeking views from all sections of the community eg. employers, health care professionals, family as well as those living with long-term health conditions, in order to better understand the range of conditions and the circumstances faced by this group. The consultation is now open until Friday 17th February 2017.

Skills for Health

Skills for Health are a non-profit organisation, licensed by Government to provide workforce solutions to help improve healthcare, raise quality and improve productivity and financial performance. The Resources section of their website provides useful case studies, reports and guidance documents, covering such topics as workforce planning, care pathway analysis and employability skills.

Care Quality Commission

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has launched a six month partnership with NSPCC's ChildLine as part of its commitment to listen to and act on young people's experiences of health and social care. This latest 'tell us about your care' partnership is one of seven CQC projects currently running with national organisations that are in a unique position to reach and be reached, by people who may choose to discuss concerns about the way they are receiving health and adult social care or to identify examples of best practice.

Established in 2009, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health, which aims to regulate and inspect health and social care services in England. 

The CQC website offers a variety of resources for both providers and the public. Various handbooks and publications cover aspects of care such as child safeguarding, end of life, mental health and neonatal care.

CareKnowledge

CareKnowledge has recently been added to our collection of online resources. It is an extensive source of both up-to-date and archived material in health and social care including topics such as adult and child protection, serious case reviews and mental health. Updated daily, the service supports practitioners and managers in these areas to help inform on key developments. The site also offers opinion, analysis and research via blogs, briefings and special reports that help to put complex issues into context. Access CareKnowledge via the E-Resources link in the Library portal. 

CareKnowledge includes the following journals and magazines:

Housing Care and Support

International Journal of Leadership in Public Services

Journal of Adult Protection

Journal of Childrens Services

Journal of Family Health

Journal of Integrated Care

Learning Disability Today

Mental Health Review Journal

Mental Health Today

Mental Health Training Education and Practice

Quality in Ageing and Older Adults

Tizard Learning Disability Review

Working with Older People

Child Health Profiles

Public Health England have published this year's Child Health Profile, providing analysis and key findings for each top level local authority in England. Updated annually, these provide a snapshot of performance against 32 selected indicators compared with the rest of England. The profiles are designed to help local authorities and health services improve the health and well-being of children and to tackle health inequalities. 

Health Care Resources

Two new guides have been published by the Health Foundation; 'Evaluation: what to consider', provides answers to commonly asked questions about how to approach evaluation of quality improvement in health care. This guide is intended to assist those new to evaluation by suggesting methodological and practical considerations and providing resources to support further learning. The second guide, 'Using Communications Approaches to Spread Improvement', introduces key concepts about spreading health care improvement work; it has been written for those in the sector who want to explore how to best engage the right people to spread and share their findings.

These form part of a collection of Quick Guides by the Health Foundation.

Future of Healthcare

A recently published report by Raconteur, considers what lies ahead for the sector, in relation to the NHS. 

Articles discuss smartphone health apps, which are rapidly gaining pace, how hospitals could make more use of digital technology and the innovative approaches used by researchers to find treatments for difficult and life-threatening conditions.

Report: The Future is Now

The King's Fund have produced a new digital report, bringing together innovative practices which explore alternative future models for healthcare. A number of case studies explore alternative treatment choices, highlighting the benefits to both healthcare workers and patients. The full report can be read here.