press releases
Response to the Secretary of State’s speech at the King’s Fund Leadership and Management Summit
Released: 23/05/2013
The NHS Alliance welcomes the Secretary of State’s focus on primary and community care, and the need to reform this to meet the needs of our aging population as our most urgent priority. We now offer to work with Mr Hunt to realize his vision, which shares much of the direction found in the Breaking Boundaries manifesto, as devised by the frontline clinicians of the NHS Alliance.
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Response to Jeremy Hunt’s annoucement of the introduction of a chief inspector for GPs
Released: 21/05/2013
The NHS Alliance welcomes the announcement of a chief inspector for GPs. We hope that with this recognition of the keystone function of general practice, comes an awareness that, for the service to work effectively as a whole, there is an accompanying acceptance that unless general practitioners are appointed to key senior positions, we will forever repeat the mistakes of the past with over-emphasis on hospital care.
One early manifestation of this would be in agreeing the criteria that the so-called Ofsted inspection would use. We would want to be assured that they are based on patient-centred measures in a manner that would make sense to the public, rather than a management set of metrics measures that are concerned more with bureaucracy rather than people. We would call for patients to be central to their construction.
We also hope that these initiatives will be applied in a practical manger sense that is joined up with other elements such as CQC registration. We would not want for practices to be distracted from their core aim of responding to patient and population’s needs through having to address lengthy administrative processes.
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The NHS Alliance rejects the focus on general practice and primary care as a scapegoat for increasing A&E demand and calls for a pause for reflection before rolling NHS 111 out any further nationally
Released: 26/04/2013
The NHS Alliance calls for recognition of the extreme pressures currently facing primary care in the wake of the NHS 111 fiasco; the result of a centrally-directed policy that did not consult on the readiness of the frontline before enforcing unnecessary deadlines.
Rick Stern, chief executive of the NHS Alliance and its urgent care lead, said: “The confusion, delays and frustration caused by the botched procurement and introduction of NHS 111 is not the fault of general practice or primary care. There has been no lack of determination within the sector to make this system function, but a forced timeline dramatically weakened the proposed design. Addressing this escalating demand requires a system-wide approach and is the responsibility of all providers. What is now needed is a period of reflection; for NHS England, the Department of Health, primary care and everyone else in urgent care – A&E and the ambulance network – to come together and determine a realistic way forward for NHS 111. Blame, especially on a GP contract introduced nine years ago, will not help us put this right for patients”.
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Clinical commissioners must realise the importance of ‘Social Value’
Released: 09/04/2013
Mo Girach, special advisor on third sector issues to the NHS Alliance, and Julian Blake, joint head of the charity and social enterprise department at law firm, Bates Wells Braithwaite, have warned clinical commissioners about the importance of fully considering ‘social value’ when commissioning community health and social care services.
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Response to GMS contract changes
Released: 19/03/2013
NHS Alliance welcomes the application of sense to some aspects of the GMS contract deal announced today by Government
Although officially a response to the consultation, this is in essence a deal that has been imposed on the profession, with some modifications, after statuary consultation, and is not a negotiated settlement.
NHS Alliance also welcomes the delayed introduction of certain indicators for referral to exercise and pulmonary rehabilitation schemes, which are often not available to refer into, and also apparent revisions to the specification of some of the Directed Enhanced Services.
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New manifesto for primary care urges nhs to break boundaries at every level
Released: 13/03/2013
To mark NHS Change Day, NHS Alliance today launches a new manifesto for primary care, Breaking Boundaries, which calls for a fundamental shift in healthcare from acute to primary setting, and calls for the new Commissioning Board to commit to specific measures.
NHS Alliance, the leading organization supporting general practice, frontline clinicians, professionals and providers in primary care, launches a new manifesto, Breaking Boundaries today, and wants to see a paradigm shift in the management of health, wellbeing and all non-urgent care.
Dr Michael Dixon, chairman, NHS Alliance will say at Healthcare Innovation Expo (launching NHS Commissioning Board) today: “Hospitals can be dangerous places. If we are to put people before numbers and achieve high quality of care, while also achieving the efficiencies required to sustain a long term NHS free at the point of need, there is an immediate imperative to shift all non-urgent care from the hospital to the community.”
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Comment in reaction to review of Section 75 of the Health and Social Care Act
Released: 27/02/2013
The NHS Alliance believes that there should be a fair platform for provision across the NHS. The proposed changes to section 75 appear to be contrary to previous reassurances from the government that CCGs will have the freedom to choose when and whether to use competition. Commissioners should be able to work with the providers that they believe will offer the best services, at the best value, taking guidance from the local population’s feedback.
Forcing providers down costly and unhelpful procurement routes will only serve to disengage them with the health service, and potentially remove valued and trusted services from local areas – regardless of local opinion.
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Comment in reaction to the BMA’s response to the proposed GP contract changes
Released: 22/02/2013
The BMA response is well written and evidenced, but despite a summary stating that what is being required of GPs is ‘unfair’ and ‘unfeasible’ it seems unlikely that the Government will make many changes to the contract.
The coming year will be crucial for general practice as a profession; how GPs respond and balance the needs of patients against the needs of politicians, as expressed through the contract and the needs of their personal incomes, will be critical to their perceived trust by the public.
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Response to the update of NICE’s IVF guidelines
Released: 21/02/2013
Many PCTs, of course, would like to commission IVF for their patients; however this is not always possible.
While NICE’s recommendations may sound good on paper, it is not possible to offer patients everything they want and need within current financial restraints, so priorities have to be made. The important thing is that these difficult decisions are made collectively by local patients and clinicians working together with local managers. As Primary Care Trusts give way to Clinical Commissioning Groups on April 1st, this will become more common.
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Response to the publication of the Francis Report
Released: 06/02/2013
Like everybody involved in healthcare, we are shocked at the events at Mid-Staffordshire Hospital, as outlined in the Francis report. There was clearly a failure in systems, and there had been a focus on the institution and processes, instead of the patient population.
It may be tempting to call for more rules and stronger regulation to ensure that this never happens again. But at the heart of the failure at Mid Staffordshire was a culture where people felt unable or unwilling to challenge what was going on and to ensure that caring for people and making sure that they are safe is always placed above finances. There will need to be a cultural change, with a new emphasis on the power of the patient voice.
At the same time, all of us working within the NHS will need to take responsibility, encouraging clinicians and managers to speak out when care is just not good enough. We all have a duty to respond to the challenges of this report.
Primary care has a crucial role in this. As the gateway to the NHS, general practice should be the first place that patients and communities go to make their voices heard, so it will be essential that GPs play the role of the ‘critical friend’, and ensure the patient voice is heard loud and clear, and the quality of local services remains high.
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Mike Dixon says the job of integrating services is ‘far from over’ in interview on ITN’s Healthcare Channel
Released: 29/01/2013
NHS Alliance Chair Dr Michael Dixon has acknowledged that the job of implementing a fully integrated health service is far from over.
Dr Dixon was speaking exclusively to the ITN Healthcare Channel ahead of the NHS Alliance Annual Conference and declared that his role in driving through clinical commissioning was gar from over.
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Letter to the Times on the launch of Healthcare UK in Dubai
Released: 28/01/2013
Sir, Healthcare UK has a unique opportunity to promote the vital role primary care has to play in managing people’s health. In many countries, primary care -a service led in the community by GPs, nurses, and allied health professionals – is an unknown concept. Yet in this country, having had more than 60 years to refine our NHS, we are moving towards locally-led health services, allowing people to receive care closer to home and even to be part of that care process themselves.
However, primary care is still not perfect, and its establishment in rising cultures such as India and China provides an opportunity to get it ‘right’ from the start. Let them learn from our culture where for too long care focused on the requirements of the hospital, rather than the patient, and services were developed top down, rather than bottom up. Healthcare professionals have finally been given the opportunity to work closely with patients to shape services in a way that works best for them, and best for a sustainable, world-class NHS.
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NHS Alliance response to a statement from Sir David Nicholson that hospitals were ‘very bad places for old, frail people’
Released: 21/01/2013
The emphasis, over the years, that has been put on management targets has left most clinicians as bystanders in planning critical areas such as the management of elderly services. If the Commissioning Board is truly committed to having quality-based care then enabling clinicians to be free of their current restrictive arrangements should be a priority.
For example, if care of the elderly should predominantly be based in the community, then why are the specialists in this area of care employed by hospitals? The NHS Alliance has long advocated changes in contracts that allow specialists to concentrate, in partnership with their GP generalist colleagues, on their communities rather than being contracted to service the needs of their Foundation Trust hospital.
As long as the NCB continues to uphold the hospital-based specialist to their recognized model of care then they will be paying only lip-service to the improvement in quality of care they say they envision.
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Exclusive: Hunt pledges to continue the primary care ‘revolution’ in interview on ITN’s Healthcare Channel
Released: 16/01/2013
Recently appointed Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said that a ‘revolution in primary care’ is the only way to improve health services in the NHS.
Speaking exclusively to the ITN Healthcare Channel, he pointed to an ageing population as one of the primary reasons why change needs to happen sooner rather than later.
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NHS Alliance response to a statement calling for restraint in the prescription of benzodiazepines
Released: 16/01/2013
The NHS Alliance believes that while tranquillisers may have their place for patients dealing with extreme stress, because they are highly addictive, they should not be given long term. Doctors and patients can be hedged in to a corner though when there is nothing else to offer in the short and sometimes medium term; it is too often either tablets, a longish wait for psychiatric help, counselling or cognitive behavioural therapy, or nothing. GP surgeries should instead be enabled to offer more options for acutely anxious patients, to provide them with support and the means to self-care, which might include stress classes, activities which reduce stress, or support and advice from a health adviser. Hopefully the new clinical commissioners will be able to introduce more innovative and more caring solutions to problems for which a tablet has historically been the only treatment. Additionally, with tranquilisers there can be the issue of their “street value”, as some tranquillisers prescribed by GPs can end up being sold, which helps neither the patient or purchaser long term.
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NHS Alliance response to Prime Minister’s statement on the Friends and Family Test
Released: 04/01/2013
In principle, as a patient-centred organisation which has long felt that patient perception and involvement should be taken more seriously, the NHS Alliance supports the need for a simple mechanism for patients to offer their experience of general practice. However, the Friends and Family Test is not the mechanism we need. It is vital to ensure that patients have the opportunity to explain why their experience was good or bad; otherwise the test will be both useless and meaningless. There are already methods available to deliver feedback, and the friends and family test won’t add anything new, or tell patients what they want and need to know. Easy, meaningful feedback that the NHS can harness is a move in the right direction, and our Patient and Public Involvement Network will play a crucial role in helping to shape a useful tool that allows providers to receive constructive feedback on their services in the future.
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NHS Alliance response to release of today’s guidance, Everyone Counts: Planning for Patients 2013/14
Released: 18/12/2012
“NHS Alliance welcomes the call for greater transparency of medical outcomes. We believe that patients have equal right as the commissioners to know how well services are performing. The prospect of all patients being able to feedback rapidly on their care by 2015 is a bold move. Our Public and Patient Involvement network will play a crucial role in supporting providers and commissioners to be responsive and use patient feedback constructively to improve and inform how services are delivered. We also welcome the broader adoption of the 6Cs but maintain that quality of care and compassionate care should go hand in hand.”
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A new report co-produced by NHS Alliance and NHS Clinical Commissioners seeks to support commissioners as they get to grips with integrated 24/7 urgent care
Released: 04/10/2012
NHS Alliance and NHS Clinical Commissioners have co-produced a report on urgent care, which supports commissioners as they look to implement effective integrated 24/7 urgent care strategies in their local areas.
Full release | Read the report
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ACEVO and the NHS Alliance call for revolution in NHS/community links
Released: 26/09/2012
ACEVO and the NHS Alliance have today launched a jointly-produced Clinical Commissioners’ Guide to the Voluntary Sector, calling for a revolution in NHS/community links and closer collaboration between clinical commissioners and voluntary sector organisations.
Full release | Read the report
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Clinical Commissioning Groups well under way to improve patient care
Released: 20/07/2012
NHS Clinical Commissioners (NHSCC) has today published Clinical Commissioning in Action, which features 12 case studies of how Clinical Commissioning Groups are making a difference to their patients. These demonstrate commitment to clinical engagement and will serve as a springboard for further development of CCGs and maximise their impact on local communities.
Full release | Read the report
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NHS Alliance welcomes greater flexibility for 111 implementation
Released: 14/06/2012
The NHS Alliance has welcomed today’s announcement by the Department of Health that Clinical Commissioning Groups will be able to extend the deadline for full implementation of the 111 service, originally set for April 2013.
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NAPC, NHS Alliance and NHS Confederation announce new membership service for CCGs
Released: 14/06/2012
The NAPC, NHS Alliance and the NHS Confederation have announced they are working together to establish a new membership service to provide clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) with a single, strong and independent collective voice.
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NHS Alliance calls on the government to act on its commitment to shared decision-making
Released: 07/06/2012
Following the publication of the consultation paper Liberating the NHS: No decision about me, without me, the NHS Alliance is calling on the government to show real commitment to shared decision-making.
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CCGs want more information about commissioning support choice
Released: 28/05/2012
Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) want more information about choices of commissioning support available to them, according to an independent report published today.
Full release | Read the report
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NHS Information Strategy high on aspiration but inadequate on application
Released: 23/05/2012
The NHS Alliance welcomes the NHS Information Strategy released by the government yesterday. It is high on aspiration, but inadequate on application, as it is unclear, in terms of actions expected or funding, how the vision will be put into practice.
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Clinical Senates’ key role to protect and foster localism
Released: 24/04/2012
In a speech at the Westminster Health Forum – Developing clinical senates and networks: commissioning, integration and efficiency – to be held today in London, Dr Donal Hynes, co-vice chair of the NHS Alliance, will reiterate the need for clinical senates and networks to support CCG’s localism.
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NHS Clinical Commissioning Coalition Mandate
Released: 24/04/2012
The NHS Clinical Commissioning Coalition (NHS CC) has published its mandate today. The Coalition, which was set up by the NHS Alliance and NAPC, is committed to supporting and championing Clinical Commissioning Groups as they carve their place in the new NHS.
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Restoring the balance
Released: 23/04/2012
Today, the Coalition of NHS Clinical Commissioners (NHS CC) warmly welcomes the publication of the Secretary of State’s letter to the Chairman, Professor Malcolm Grant, of the NHS Commissioning Board Authority (NHS CBA). This letter sets out, in unequivocal terms, the Government’s expectations of the Authority and the basis against which Ministers will hold the Authority to account.
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National Conference for CCG Leaders
Released: 10/04/2012
The NHS Clinical Commissioning Coalition is calling on all Clinical Commissioning Groups leaders to be part of a free national conference to discuss the implementation of clinical commissioning.
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NHS Alliance appoints new leadership team
Released: 16/03/2012
Rick Stern has been appointed new chief executive for the organisation with effect from April 2012. He will work alongside Julie Wood, NHS Alliance’s National Director of Clinical Commissioning, as part of a new leadership team, who will report to chairman Michael Dixon.
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NHS Clinical Commissioning Coalition: Commissioning Support Survey
Released: 06/03/2012
In January 2012, the National Association of Primary Care (NAPC) and the NHS Alliance (NHSA) issued a short survey on commissioning support for Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). The following press release highlights some interesting aspects of the results.
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Clinical Commissioning Coalition Response to No10 Summit
Released: 22/02/2012
In response to yesterday’s meeting between the Prime Minister, the Health Secretary and an array of health organisations – including NAPC, the NHS Confederation and the NHS Alliance – to discuss the NHS reform agenda and consequent improvements arising from the changes.
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Is the NHS Commissioning Board really being set up to liberate CCGs?
Released: 06/02/2012
NHS Alliance/NAPC Clinical Commissioning Coalition’s response to NHS Commissioning Board update.
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NHS 111: getting lost in translation?
Released: 25/01/2012
The new urgent care telephone number NHS 111 may have the potential to bring real benefits to the health care system but, according to a recent NHS Alliance survey, is in danger of ‘getting lost in translation’. The new clinical commissioners currently feel a lack of engagement with NHS 111, despite the fact that they are the key people responsible for its rapid implementation across England by April 2013.
Full release | Read the report
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Current policy on specialists’ role in NHS reforms inadequate
Released: 13/01/2012
Policy on the role of specialist doctors in the NHS reforms is not fit for purpose, according to a discussion paper published today by the NHS Alliance.
Full release | Read the report
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