Posts Tagged ‘Managers’

« Older Entries

DoH and Intellect plan to improve NHS IT

Thursday, November 10th, 2011

A new joint plan resulting from collaboration between the Department of Health and trade body Intellect says that the NHS needs to harness IT and informatics in order to see improvements in patient care.

The initial announcement of the government beginning to partner with Intellect came in September following the dissolution of the multi-billion pound NHS National Programme for IT (NPfIT). It is hoped that this partnership will restore and continue to build confidence in the wider use of IT to benefit patient care

Together the two bodies assert that the NHS has not yet realised the potential of IT in improving healthcare, and stated that it is now up to clinical and business managers to “do more”. They state that successful change can only come as a result of involvement from NHS managers, who need to effectively utilise their skills to drive technology through their organisations

To address the matter, the plan states that a joint initiative will now be developed to engage with both business and clinical managers across the health service. This should ensure that they are better equipped to become “informed customers” of the solutions available from NHS informatics and private sector suppliers.

The “costly failure” of the NPfIT has affected confidence in the benefits of health IT, with ministers criticising it for being unpopular, top-down and imposing. Ministers have now called for  power to be pushed to the NHS frontline, with NHS chief Sir David Nicholson saying that a “modernised NHS” needed “information systems that are driven by what patients and clinicians want”.

Director General of Intellect John Higgins said that stimulating the market is as much about having informed customers as a responsive supplier community.

“With the Department of Health we have outlined a new approach to engaging the customer and supply side in a more collaborative and transparent way. Together we’re committed to overcoming the obstacles that stand in the way of the NHS harnessing leading and innovative information technology” he said.

Original Source Public Service

About Pathway Software

Pathway Software (www.pathwaysoftware.com) specialises in the design and development of patient information systems for Allied Health professionals.

Its flagship product, Therapy Manager, is an Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system specifically designed for Therapy Services to provide decision makers with the ability to track and manage clinical activity and analyse cost of care by patient, episode or service. The system also demonstrably reduces administration time and the costs of managing Therapy Services.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in IT | No Comments »

Failed FT Managers will be “removed”

Thursday, October 27th, 2011

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has issued a warning to NHS managers, stating that those who fail to prepare hospitals adequately to become Foundation Trusts (FT’s) by the 2014 deadline will be “removed and replaced”.

In a speech to policy makers, NHS experts and private healthcare executives in London that signalled a new approach to the health service, Andrew Lansley said that he had contacted the chairs of all remaining NHS Trusts. They had reached agreements on the timescales for when they would be “clinically and financially sustainable”, allowing them “foundation” status.

There has been increasing concern in the Department of Health (DoH) over the time taken for the remaining 69 acute hospitals in the NHS to become FT’s. The National Audit Office noted this month that the number of authorisations peaked in 2007 and 2008, however, and only 14 FT’s had been authorised since the end of 2009.

The DoH have identified up to 36 Trusts that need access to £376m in government loans to meet a regulatory requirement to become an FT. Unlike NHS Trusts, FT’s will have the ability to compete in clinical and financial terms for patients.

Commenting on the issues that had plagued the move for many Trusts towards FT status, Mr Lansley said that often the problems rested with hospital management for their lack of decision making.  “For them, I have a stark warning. If your hospitals are not there by the time you say, you’re not getting there at all” Lansley said.

NHS workers have however claimed that the assessments determining Trust status are not focusing on patient care, but merely on the cash position of the NHS.

Peter Carter, General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said that some Trusts are performing excellently in terms of patient care, but are still judges to be “failing” on the basis of their financial position, for which there may be significant underlying reasons.

Original Source The Guardian

About Pathway Software

Pathway Software (www.pathwaysoftware.com) specialises in the design and development of patient information systems for Allied Health professionals.

Its flagship product, Therapy Manager, is an Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system specifically designed for Therapy Services to provide decision makers with the ability to track and manage clinical activity and analyse cost of care by patient, episode or service. The system also demonstrably reduces administration time and the costs of managing Therapy Services.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Commissioning | No Comments »

Criticism as NHS Managers recruit Efficiency Expert

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

Hospital staff and unions today criticised managers at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals for taking on an “efficiency” consultant to help them achieve financial savings.

Steve Leivers, who is Director of Transformation at Aintree, has joined Lancashire Teaching Hospitals for six months to help them achieve their £21 million efficiency target. It has not been disclosed how much he will be paid for this period.

Workers and unions have however blasted the move and have branded it a waste of money. They assert that any further cuts will adversely affect patient care, and that spending more money on further employment in order to specify areas to target cuts to was counter-productive. They voiced their concerns that the role of efficiency directives should be the responsibility of their current managers and directors to find the most efficient ways of working and provide value for money.

George Dixon, central Lancashire Branch Secretary for UNISON, said that the move to appoint a specialist to make further savings indicates that management resources have been dramatically cut. “We have just been reported as being in the bottom 20 of hospital trusts by the Care Quality Commission when it comes to patient care. Further cuts will impact on staff’s ability to deliver patient care” he stated.

Karen Partington, Chief Executive of Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said that the appointment of Mr Leivers as Director of Transformation is hoped to support them in achieving their efficiency target by 2012. He will collaborate with staff to review processes and working practices to identify more effective ways of delivering services.

Ms Partington said that Mr Leivers has a track record of delivering sustainable financial balance in challenging situations, and has previously supported other organisations to make significant savings. Mr Leivers is currently leading a £35m trust wide clinical transformation programme at Aintree.

Despite the best intentions of NHS Managers attempting to target areas for efficiency savings, Trusts may find that they could achieve better results by providing Heads of Service with the right tools to do their jobs. Trusts could seek to implement an Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system such as Therapy Manager, which provides managers with a robust suite of tools to enable on-demand monitoring of key performance measures. The system can report on the Costs of Care and where they are incurred, ensuring managers are supported in clinical decision making which could potentially reduce the financial costs incurred in patient care.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Efficiency | No Comments »

“Anti-Competitive” Behaviour from NHS managers

Thursday, July 28th, 2011
An investigation by the independent Co-operation and Competition Panel (CCP) has revealed that NHS bosses are pursuing anti-competitive practices.

The official review highlighted a range of tactics it had concerns about, stating that resistance to enter into the increasingly competitive climate of the NHS often occurred for no valid reason. These included the use of block contracts and restrictions which often favour local hospitals ahead of the private sector and other parts of the NHS.

The report comes as the government earlier this month announcing that community services, including podiatry and counselling, should be opened up to greater competition in order that patients were given greater choice between NHS, private and voluntary sector providers.

Approximately 200,000 of the five million procedures performed annually now take place in private hospitals approved to undertake NHS work. Patients are also able to exercise their choice of providers to opt for treatment in hospitals outside of their catchment area in order to be closer to family members or to receive higher standards of care.

The CCP received evidence that nearly half of the 151 PCT’s were deliberately blocking patient choice. In particular, they highlighted a series of measures which were being taken:

  • Block contracts to guarantee certain hospitals a set number of patients, leaving the private sector and other providers with only the remaining patients.
  • Management referral centres to vet GP referrals and allow patients to be channelled to favoured providers.
  • Minimum waiting times to insist that patients wait a certain length of time before receiving treatment.
  • Activity caps limiting the number of patients that can be referred to certain providers.
  • Fewer options to reduce the range of treatments a provider can offer patients.

PCT’s have argued that these measures are necessary for a number of reasons, including to balance their budgets and “protect the future” of their local hospitals.

The CCP report rejected this statement, asserting that in many cases there were unlikely to be valid reasons for such moves. It also states that managers often lacked transparency about their decision making processes.

It has not been suggested that there should be a complete ban on such the practices, but the CCP has warned that PCT’s undertaking such measures may be formally challenged.

As it becomes an increasing demand that Trust’s align themselves alongside private providers in a competitive environment, they could seek to implement an Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system. Therapy Manager is an EPR system which illustrates the true Costs of Care by speciality and by condition, ensuring that the highest quality patient care is provided at the best price.

Original Source BBC News

About Pathway Software

Pathway Software (www.pathwaysoftware.com) specialises in the design and development of patient information systems for Allied Health professionals.

Its flagship product, Therapy Manager, is an Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system specifically designed for Therapy Services to provide decision makers with the ability to track and manage clinical activity and analyse cost of care by patient, episode or service. The system also demonstrably reduces administration time and the costs of managing Therapy Services.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Performance Management | No Comments »

Managers fears for the NHS

Wednesday, July 6th, 2011
The new Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation, Mike Farrar, has warned that if the NHS is to survive in the current climate then it is essential the government support large-scale restructuring of the service.

To highlight the issue, the NHS Confederation has published a survey of the opinions of NHS managers, which reflected their uncertainly surrounding the government’s health reforms and fears of the effects that the £20 billion health savings drive will have on clinicians and patients. The survey comes at a time when it has been reported that doctors at the British Medical Association’s annual representative meeting in Cardiff where 59% of delegates voted for the Health and Social Care Bill to be withdrawn.

Of the 287 NHS Chairs and Chief Executives polled, 89% predicted that the plateau in spending has led to “very serious” financial issues for the organisation, with 42% reporting that this was the worst environment ever experienced by NHS staff.

In excess of 50% of participants asserted their belief that waiting times will worsen as a result of the reforms despite the recent re-instation of the 18 week “referral-to-treatment” objective as a formal NHS target. Whilst the majority of managers felt they would manage to adhere to their budgets, one in five felt the quality of care would decline over the next year, with a third expecting it to decline over the next three years. In addition, there is widespread belief that NHS cuts will negatively impact council spending, and therefore the standards of social care.

Despite these fears, the savings must be made, and Farrar says this will only be achievable if politicians are able to back big service changes that are needed on quality and cost grounds. He adds that currently this cannot be achieved due to the unstable climate of the NHS and uncertainty surrounding whether the Bill will go ahead, and whether the contents will continue to be modified.

“We are concerned about excessive centralisation, bureaucratic restrictions on the freedom to act of local commissioning groups, the continued attack on management, and the lack of political courage when reconfiguration of services is justified on quality, safety, and, let’s name it, on cost grounds” he said.

Farrar asserts that it is not enough to cut financial overheads, but that services must be redesigned, ensuring that cuts are only made once the areas of excess are properly identified. He also called for the dissolution of the target of cutting a third of management costs, saying that such a large service needs adequate management to perform well. “We have got to value clinical and professional management and stop the endless attacks on it” he said.

One method to ensure efficiency savings without increasing cuts to provisions and staff numbers is the implementation of an Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system such as Therapy Manager.  The system provides not only a more streamlined and efficient working practise reducing administrative and clinical input, but has the capacity to report on exactly where costs are being incurred to ensure cuts are being directed towards the correct services. It also provides managers with a robust suite of management tools to enable on-demand monitoring of key performance measures.

Original Source Financial Times

About Pathway Software

Pathway Software (www.pathwaysoftware.com) specialises in the design and development of patient information systems for Allied Health professionals.

Its flagship product, Therapy Manager, is an Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system specifically designed for Therapy Services to provide decision makers with the ability to track and manage clinical activity and analyse cost of care by patient, episode or service. The system also demonstrably reduces administration time and the costs of managing Therapy Services.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in NHS | No Comments »

« Older Entries
Copyright © 2011 Pathway Software. All rights reserved. Sitemap