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Health Bulletin - August 2015 >

July 2015

Health News from LVSC

July 2015

Dear colleague,

Welcome to our July 2015 edition of our regular health ebulletin bringing you news from LVSC, Regional Voices (of which LVSC is a constituent member), the Department of Health, Public Health England, Care Quality Commission and NHS England.

Where relevant, the ebulletins may include information from London's voluntary & community sector (VCS) as well as regional policy news - e.g. from the Greater London Authority, NHS England (London region), London CCGs,etc.

We also intend to keep you up to date on the government's Five Year Forward View, including the transformation agenda in London..

If you wish to discuss any items to be included in future bulletins, please feel free to contact me.

Kind regards

Sandra

Sandra van der Feen

Policy Officer, LVSC

Mondays - Wednesdays only

LVSC news

The Who's Who guide for London has been updated!

As you may be aware, the regional VCS network organisations have each developed a regional "Who's Who" guide to support voluntary and community sector organisations make contact with people in health and care structures in each region, including clinical commissioning groups, health and wellbeing boards, local Healthwatch organisations, clinical senates, commissioning support units, CQC, etc.

The guides have now been refreshed. The London guide can be found on LVSC's website. New additions to the London guide comprise information about the Transformation Team in London, the London Health & Care Collaborative as well as the two London vanguards. Even though every attempt is made to update all contacts, you could really help us by checking the details in your area and let me know if there have been any recent changes. You can contact me via email:

Moving forward together - a VCSE funding /invest to save think piece from LVSC: reminder and update

If you missed it last month, you may want to read my recent article following our Whole Systems Change event in April this year.

The article describes lack of funding as one key issue emerging from the event for the voluntary, community & social enterprise sector (VCSE). It makes a case for a sustainable and transparent funding/commissioning strategy for the new models of care to work well and the need for the statutory sector including commissioners to invest to save. The article mainly uses social prescribing referrals as its context. It suggests a number of ways how funding issues might be addressed and describes some of the actions LVSC will take.

Following the publication of the article last month, I received a very useful response and additional information from Ross Diamond, CEO Redbridge CVS which I would like to share. Ross referred to the Redbridge First Response Service - which is a version of social prescribing managed by Redbridge Council and including the NHS, Fire and Police as well as VCS organisations. Currently, the VCS organisations that receive referrals do not get specific funding - but Ross has been sharing information about social prescribing models (including the Rotherham evaluations) with their Clinical Commissioning Group, Local Authority and Fairness Commission (which is currently underway and which he is a member of) and Ross thinks there is real potential to tweak the model to ensure that VCS organisations that receive referrals are funded to ensure they have the capacity to deliver the relevant early interventions. I will discuss with Ross how we can best share learning about social prescribing referral funding at a regional and national level including the CCGs and local authorities.

The article has also been shared nationally and NHS England will make use of it as part of the VCSE Review . The Patient & Public Partnership Lead at NHS England said she would "make sure it's pulled into part of the evidence gathering for the VCSE review and that the article fits in really well with the direction the review is going in".

The article is aimed at our Regional Voices' partners as well the wider voluntary, community and social enterprise sector, locally, regionally and nationally. It has also been shared with our statutory sector colleagues, including NHS England (see above), the vanguards, Commissioning Support Units, Academic Health Science Networks and other organisations and partnership bodies.

If you have any comments on the article and would like to share your views and good practice in London, please contact Sandra van der Feen at

London wide news

Seasonal flu plans for at risk groups - 2015-16: briefing for charities and patient groups

Here is the link to briefing for charities supporting at "at risk groups" and the targets NHS England hope to achieve.

Voluntary, community and social enterprise sector (VCSE) organisations that support particular conditions or patient groups provide important routes to those members of the public who are at the most risk. NHS England would like them to encourage their members to get vaccinated. Public Health England will work closely with these organisations and provide communications materials (including key messages and cases studies relevant to that particular condition) that they can use to promote flu vaccine.

The reason it is important to focus on key charities, for example, is that those with neurological conditions are approximately 40 times more likely to die if they develop flu than individuals who have no other underlying health condition. Those with chronic liver disease are 48 times more likely to die. VCSE organisations looking after those with chronic liver and neurological disease will be encouraged to support the campaign this year.

Here is the link to the Public Health England Integrated Seasonal Flu Communications Strategy 2015-16. It sets out the overall communications strategy for this year's seasonal flu campaign to be launched on 5 October 2015. The vaccination programme involves a range of partners who need to work closely together and the strategy aims to provide clarity on roles and responsibilities, and defined audiences and it provides information on how we will aim to improve uptake across the groups who will be offered the vaccination in 2015/16.

Please cascade this to relevant contact, members, patient groups, etc especially VCSE organisations supporting people with specific underlying neurological conditions.

Homehealth Consultation

Age UK London are participating in a research project that University College London (UCL) are conducting into developing a support service for people with 'low level needs' at home. With the decreased budget, it is only those people with high level needs who are likely to be eligible for certain benefits so this represents a really interesting prospect for older people who may not be eligible but who are experiencing some increased difficulties in managing daily life.

UCL have opened the invitation to older people and/or carers of older people who are still living at home independently but are starting to feel that they are feeling more tired during the day, having increased difficulties in getting out or experiencing increased occurrences of memory loss and low mood.

This has the potential for significant impact so please register to have your say on how this service should look and on how it can be best put into practice. Please also forward on to any contacts you may have who fit the above description. Please note that places are limited so attendance needs to be booked and confirmed in advance.
Refreshments will be provided.

Title: Homehealth Consultation
Date: Tuesday 18th August, 2015
Time: 2:00pm - 4:00pm (with refreshments)
Location: Age UK London, 1st Floor, 21 St Georges Road, London, SE1 6ES

Anyone interested should email Ben Donovan, Age UK London on

Working with UCLPartners - a chance to have your say

During July, NHS England has been conducting a survey of all Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs), providing an opportunity for you to feedback on your experience of working with the AHSNs.

The survey aims to get a perspective on how the AHSNs are delivering nationally, but the results will also enable UCLPartners to improve delivery of their organisational goals at a local level.

This kind of feedback is vitally important to enable UCLPartners to adapt and improve as an organisation, so they would like as many people within the partnership as possible to complete it by 7th August. It takes only ten minutes to complete and all responses are anonymous. Take part in the survey here.

The survey is managed independently by YouGov on behalf of NHS England. All work is carried out in accordance with the Market Research Society Code of Conduct, in compliance with UK data protection legislation.

Beyond this survey, UCLPartners is always happy to receive the comments and suggestions from the partnership; these can be sent to at any time.

The London Pathways Partnership launched

Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust (BEH) is one of four mental health trusts forming the London Pathways Partnership (LPP) which has launched its new website for health professionals and service users.

The LPP aims to work together to design and deliver services and treatments across criminal justice services in London and the south of England. The group will work together to develop services which are easily accessible, deliver high quality cost effective care to support both service users and health professionals.
The LPP includes Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust, East London NHS Foundation Trust, Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust and South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. All the partners have recognised expertise in delivering effective psychological approaches to complex high risk offenders. The LPP steering group comprises of mental health clinical leads and service directors to make key decisions and share comprehensive information on the criminal justice, health and third sector options available to make sure service users find themselves on faster and more efficient pathways.

National news

2016 GSK IMPACT Awards - Core funding and free training for health charities

GSK's IMPACT Awards reward charities that are doing excellent work to improve people's health. Organisations must be at least three years old, working in a health-related field in the UK, with income between £25,000 and £2 million. Up to 20 awards will be made ranging from £3,000 to £40,000 plus free training valued at up to £6,000. Organisations will also have a film made, receive help with press and publicity and be given a set of promotional materials.

The Awards are funded by GlaxoSmithKline and managed in partnership with The King's Fund.

To apply or to view winners' films

Closing date: 25 September 2015

If you tweet, here is some suggested text: funding for health charities. To apply www.kingsfund.org.uk/gskimpactawards

A new film has been launched

What work Centre for Wellbeing - New Economics Foundation (NEF)

The New Economics Foundation (NEF) are pleased to announce that they are part of the newly established What Works Centre for Wellbeing.

What Works is a UK government-funded initiative to enable a range of stakeholders to access independent, high quality, accessible evidence syntheses across a broad range of social policy areas, from crime reduction to health and social care and now to wellbeing.

In 2011, the Office for National Statistics began measuring wellbeing across the UK, and there is a growing movement to consider wellbeing as a key outcome of policy and service delivery. The question now is how to use the data, and other evidence on wellbeing, to create better policies and practices. The new What Works Centre for Wellbeing aims to answer this question, bringing together robust evidence of what works and undertaking a knowledge mobilisation function to get that evidence to those areas and organisations that can use it to best effect.

Specifically, NEF are part of a consortium that is focusing on Community Wellbeing. Over the next three years, the consortium will be bringing together evidence on what community-level factors determine wellbeing. The aim is to identify steps that government, both central and local, as well as community organisations can take to improve wellbeing.

Over the next few months the consortium will be organising events and engaging with stakeholders in order to frame the scope of their research. They would like to include you in a contacts database for the What Works Centre for Wellbeing to keep in touch and invite you to relevant events. If you'd like to be on this list, please .

Accessible Information Standard Update July 2015

NHS England would like to make you aware of some news concerning the 'making health and social care information accessible' project. The Accessible Information Standard - known officially as SCCI1605 Accessible Information - has now been approved and published.

Further information is available on the NHS England website - in a range of alternative formats.
The formal Information Standards Notice is available on the Health and Social Care Information Centre website

Further rollout of personal health budgets

Personal health budgets are one way to give people with long term health conditions and disabilities more choice and control over the money spent on meeting their health and wellbeing needs. Since October 2014 adults eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare and children receiving continuing care have had a right to have a personal health budget, and CCGs are now looking at who else in their local area could benefit from the option of one. NHS England recommends you speak to your Clinical Commissioning Group to find out more about their local plans for expanding the offer of personal health budgets.

NHS Innovation Accelerator programme launched

NHS England's Chief Executive Simon Stevens and National Medical Director Sir Bruce Keogh have announced the successful applicants of the NHS Innovation Accelerator programme - a scheme to make evidenced healthcare innovations more widely available to patients. 17 healthcare pioneers from the UK and abroad will receive national support to roll out their technologies, processes and models of care to patients, hospitals and GP practices throughout England. The innovations will help to prevent diseases, speed up diagnosis, improve safety and efficiency of services and increase patient participation in decision making, self-management and research.

Latest results of the GP Patient Survey

NHS England has published the latest results of the GP Patient Survey. The survey sought the views of over two and a half million people every year about their experience of GP services and NHS dentistry. The survey produces a database that can be used to identify good practice and opportunities to improve patient experience across a range of local services. The results for every individual GP practice in England can be found, with a new practice comparison tool, on the GP Patient Survey website.

Launch of the Cancer Taskforce strategy

The Cancer Taskforce recently launched its strategy. It considers how to deliver better prevention, swifter diagnosis and improved treatment and care for all cancer patients. All of the priorities highlighted in the strategy seek, in some form, to address inequalities in cancer, to achieve a world class cancer service for everyone in England.

PHE has also just published the third National Cancer Intelligence Network (NCIN) report on cancer and equality groups. This report collates the existing data on inequality and cancer.

SACN report on carbohydrates and health

The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) final report on carbohydrates and health, published in July recommended a significant cut to the amount of sugars people consume as part of their daily calorie intake - halved from 10% to 5%. The report also recommends that consumption of sugar sweetened drinks is minimised and fibre increased.

The recommendation on sugars represents a huge challenge to the population, the government and industry, as both young people and adults already exceeded the previous recommendation. Given the serious health implications of being overweight or obese, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers, PHE is urging parents to take action now, starting with sugary drinks.

SACN's findings are the first wide ranging look at the relationship between sugar consumption and health outcomes in the UK since the 1990s. The report found consuming sugary drinks is leading to unhealthy weight gain in children and young people. For children, too much sugar is linked with a greater risk of tooth decay. In adults, it leads to them consuming too many calories.

When SACN published its draft report in June 2014, PHE embarked on a review of possible measures to reduce sugar consumption, including reformulation, marketing and promotions of high-sugar food and drink, and fiscal measures, looking at the impact they could have. The government asked PHE to use the evidence from this review to advise on actions it could take to lower sugar consumption, informing its wider obesity and diabetes strategy. PHE is finalising this evidence review and will publish it later this summer.

Fundraiser

Tom Owen, LVSC volunteer is doing the Diamond Triathlon in September (1500m swim, 40km cycle, 10km run) to raise funds for LVSC - go Tom and thanks. We know you can do it!

Posts

Policy and Project Manager - Sector Support LVSC
Ref. SS/02/15

Part-time, 28 hours per week, initially until 31 March 2017 dependant on funding.

£30,311 plus London Weighting per annum (pro-rata).

Based in London.

LVSC's vision is of a vibrant and sustainable city where lives of Londoners are enhanced through voluntary and community action.

We are seeking an experienced Policy and Project Manager to take forward our work supporting the voluntary and community sector in London, primarily through the London for All capacity building project funded by London Councils. Main duties include supporting and managing networks, devising project delivery, monitoring and project management and working with stakeholders to develop policy and research. Experience of partnership working is essential.

Closing date: Friday 7 August 2015.

Interviews: Wednesday 19 August 2015.

To request an application pack please e-mail .

LVSC encourages applications from people of all backgrounds and would specifically welcome applications from people with protected characteristics, which are age, disability, gender, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, race, religion and belief, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity

Vacancy link on LVSC website
London Voluntary Service Council (LVSC), based in Kings Cross, brings voluntary and community sector organisations together to learn and share best practice and to create a co-ordinated voice

Job Role: Development Officer - Islington Black and Minority Ethnic Forum

Part time: 14 hrs per week
Pro rata Salary: NJC Scale 6: £26,342 -£27,877 (including London Weighting)
7 month contract (with potential for extension)
Start date: September 2015 - March 2016

Every Voice is recruiting a Development Officer for Islington BME Forum. Islington BME Forum is a network bringing together Black and Minority Ethnic voluntary and community organisations to address inequalities affecting local communities. The Forum facilitates dialogue, collaboration and partnerships between BME VCS organisations and other service providers and statutory bodies, in order to influence local policy and services and achieve race equality in the borough.
Key areas of responsibility are to provide

Outreach to community organisations
Administration and communication
Campaigns and policy support and development
Coordinating and attending wider voluntary and statutory network meetings
Facilitating partnerships and coordinating projects
Community consultations and reporting
Coordinating capacity building for BME organisations