Is bigger better? Lessons for large-scale general practice

"Traditional general practice is changing. Three-quarters of practices are now working collaboratively in larger-scale organisations – albeit with varying degrees of ambition. Policy-makers and practitioners have high hopes for these organisations and their potential to transform services both within primary care and beyond. But can we be confident that they can live up to these expectations? This research summary presents the key findings from a 15-month study of large-scale general practice organisations in England. It was informed by an extensive literature review, and combined national surveys with in-depth case studies of contrasting, largescale general practice organisations and analysis of 15 quality indicators."

Is bigger better? Lessons for large-scale general practice
R Rosen, S Kumpunen, N Curry, A Davies, L Pettigrew, L Kossarova
Nuffield Trust
July 2016

Read more here.

Exploring the GP ‘added value’ in commissioning

"In our observation of various meetings, we found a degree of complexity associated with CCG structures and governance arrangements. Unlike PCTs (their immediate predecessor organisations), CCGs are often quite different from one another, with different structures and distribution of responsibilities between the various committees, sub-committees etc. We were often unable to clearly define which body was responsible for which type of decisions and who was a member of a particular body."

Exploring the GP ‘added value’ in commissioning: What works, in what circumstances, and how? Final Report
I McDermott, A Coleman, N Perkins, D Osipovic, C Petsoulas, K Checkland
PRUComm
October 2015

Read more here.

Self-assessment toolkit for local Healthwatch and local Healthwatch Commissioners

"This toolkit is not intended to replace any of that advice but sets out some key governance questions for LHW and local commissioners to think about in development discussions and in renegotiating contracts."

Local Healthwatch Governance: a self-assessment toolkit for local Healthwatch and local Healthwatch Commissioners
Local Government Association
July 2015

Read more here.

Boards, leadership and the NHS

"There is no legal form, structure or system that can completely inoculate NHS provider organisations against failure because organisations are led by people not systems or methodologies, and as in any industry, success is contingent on the cumulative behaviour of individuals. But good corporate governance provides a vehicle for the provision of sound leadership, clear direction and dynamic accountability."

We need to talk about boards: Boards, leadership and the NHS
NHS Providers
July 2015

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Learning not blaming

"The three reports that we are building on in developing our policy are distinct in their concerns, and this document addresses points raised in each of the three reports in turn. But there are also some common themes that run through them:

• openness, honesty and candour;
• listening to patients, families and staff;
• finding and facing the truth;
• learning from errors and failures in care;
• people and professionalism;
• the right culture from top to bottom."

Learning not blaming: The government response to the Freedom to Speak Up consultation, the Public Administration Select Committee report 'Investigating Clinical Incidents in the NHS', and the Morecambe Bay Investigation
Department of Health
July 2015

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Assessing the potential for improvement of primary care

"We could largely confirm the hypothesis that a stronger primary care structure is associated with more person-focused care."

Assessing the potential for improvement of primary care in 34 countries: a cross-sectional survey
WLA Schafer, WGW Boerma, AM Murante, HJM Sixma, FG Schellevis, PP Groenewegen
Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 2015, 93:161-168

Read more here.

Governance challenges for providers in light of the Dalton review

"Any change in organisational structure arises from a strong business case to develop models of care for patient benefit (to improve outcomes, safety or experience), and/or to deliver a more efficient service, providing best value for the taxpayer and potentially releasing funds to reinvest in patient care."

Form follows function: Governance challenges for providers in light of the Dalton review
NHS Confederation
April 2015

Read more here.

Read related QIPP @lert post here.

Acute hospitals and integrated care: from hospitals to health systems

"If the health and social care system is to respond to the changing needs of the population, and also address the financial challenges it faces, acute hospitals will need to play a fundamentally different role within local health economies."

Acute hospitals and integrated care: From hospitals to health system
C Naylor, H Alderwick, M Honeyman
The King's Fund
March 2015

Read more here.

Bite-size guides to support patient and public participation

NHS England has developed the following bite-size guides, to support patient and public participation in the NHS:

1. Principles for participation in commissioning 
2. Governance for participation 
3. Planning for participation 
4. Budgeting for participation 

These guides are linked to the Transforming participation in health and social care guidance (September 2013).

Toward new models for innovative governance of biomedicine and health technologies

"To efficiently translate biomedicine and health technologies from the laboratory bench to the bedside, governance frameworks are having to change to take into account the complexity of the field, using new (and often) iterative regulatory processes."

Toward new models for innovative governance of biomedicine and health technologies
OECD Science, Technology and Industry Policy Papers No.11
December 2013

Read more here.

International profiles of health care systems

"This publication presents overviews of the health care systems of Australia, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. Each overview covers health insurance, public and private financing, health system organization and governance, health care quality and coordination, disparities, efficiency and integration, use of information technology and evidence-based practice, cost containment, and recent reforms and innovations."

International profiles of health care systems
Edited by S Thomson, R Osborn, D Squires, M Jun
The Commonwealth Fund
November 2013

Read more here.

Good governance for prison health in the 21st century

"Prisoners mostly come from socially disadvantaged segments of the community and carry a higher burden of communicable and noncommunicable diseases compared with people in the general population."

Good governance for prison health in the 21st century: a policy brief on the organization of prison health
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Health Organization
October 2013

Read more here.

Helping people live better for longer

"This guide is designed to provide an overview of the Department of Health post-April 2013."

Helping people live better for longer
Department of Health
July 2013

Read more here.

Review into the quality of care and treatment provided by 14 hospital trusts in England

"The purpose of this review was to determine whether there are any sustained failings in the quality of care and treatment being provided to patients at these trusts."

Review into the quality of care and treatment provided by 14 hospital trusts in England: overview report
Professor Sir Bruce Keogh KBE
National Health Service (NHS)
July 2013

Read more here.

Continuous quality improvement

"Shared governance and continuous quality improvement (CQI) are concepts that have been re-introduced into the healthcare sector over recent decades through several iterations for the purpose of empowering point-of-care staff."

Continuous quality improvement: a shared governance model that maximizes agent-specific knowledge
V Burkosi, J Yoon
Nursing Leadership, 26 (Special Issue) May 2013: 7-16

Read more here.

The changing national role in health system governance

"This study provides an overview of recent changes in the national government’s role in the governance of the health systems in 12 countries."

The changing national role in health system governance: a case-based study of 11 European countries and Australia
Edited by E Jakubowski, RB Saltman
World Health Organization (European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies)
April 2013

Read more here.

Lessons from Europe: provider governance

"This Briefing outlines key insights from a Lessons from Europe seminar that examined the impact of recent reforms in hospital governance in Spain and the Netherlands."

Lessons from Europe: provider governance
NHS European Office
February 2013

Read more here.

The Francis Report

"The final report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry was published on Wednesday 6 February 2013....There are 290 recommendations in the report."

The Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry
Chaired by Robert Francis QC
The Stationery Office
February 2013

Access all the relevant documents here.

Good Governance Handbook

"This document has been designed to provide some key principles of good governance that can aid decision making at board level in healthcare providers."


Good Governance Handbook
J Bullivant, R Burgess, A Corbett-Nolan, K Godfrey
Good Governance Institute, Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership
January 2012

Read more here.

Governance for health in the 21st century

"In this study, ‘governance for health’ is defined as the attempts of governments or other actors 
to steer communities, countries or groups of countries in the pursuit of health as integral to wellbeing through both a ‘whole-of-government’ and  a ‘whole-of-society’ approach."

Governance for health in the 21st century: a study conducted for the WHO Regional Office for Europe
World Health Organization
August 2011

Read more here.