Improving outcomes for patients with sepsis

"Earlier this year, NHS England convened a group of experts from across the health and care landscape, the UK Sepsis Trust, Royal Colleges, patients and expert clinicians to advise on those actions needed to drive improvement in the identification and treatment of sepsis. Through their deliberations, the group agreed on the need to:

1. Prevent avoidable cases of sepsis.
2. Increase awareness of sepsis amongst professionals and the public.
3. Improve the identification and treatment of sepsis across the whole patient pathway.
4. Improve consistency of standards and reporting.
5. Underpin all actions with the principles of appropriate antibiotic use and antimicrobial stewardship.

This document is intended for those working across the health and social care landscape – including provider organisations, commissioners, and healthcare professionals. We hope that it will also be helpful to the public in understanding what the health system is doing to address a major cause of death and lasting ill health."

Improving outcomes for patients with sepsis: A cross-system action plan
NHS England
December 2015

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Achieving change in primary care

"Conclusions There is a substantial literature on implementation strategies aimed at changing professional practices or behaviour. It remains unclear which implementation strategies are more likely to be effective than others and under what conditions. Future research should focus on identifying and assessing the effectiveness of strategies targeted at the wider context and organisational levels and examining the costs and cost-effectiveness of implementation strategies."

Achieving change in primary care—effectiveness of strategies for improving implementation of complex interventions: systematic review of reviews
R Lau, et al.
BMJ Open, 2015, 5:2009993

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Behavioural insights in health care

"The appeal of nudging remains ‘self-evident’ given that it offers simple, low-cost forms of intervention that are often more acceptable than traditional policy instruments. However, the evidence for the application of nudge-type interventions in health care is highly variable in terms of quality, relevance and impact. What evidence there is indicates that there is much innovation and development in this area and there is evidence enough to suggest that nudge-type interventions have considerable potential to change health care behaviours that drive inefficiency and waste."

Behavioural insights in health care: Nudging to reduce inefficiency and waste
C Perry, K Chhatralia, D Damesick, S Hobden, L Volpe
The Health Foundation
December 2015

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Spending Review 2015: what it means for health and social care

"Care services in England remain on the brink of collapse despite the extra investment in social care. None of the measures outlined in the Spending Review will plug the funding gap in social care expected over the course of this Parliament."

Spending Review 2015: what it means for health and social care
Nuffield Trust Parliamentary Briefing
December 2015

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Collaboration in general practice: surveys of GPs and CCGs

"GPs and CCGs report that the growth in collaborative working is driven primarily by CCG encouragement alongside financial pressures faced within general practice and a desire to expand the range of services offered in primary care."

Collaboration in general practice: surveys of GPs and CCGs
S Kumpunen, N Curry, N Edwards, M Holmes, H Price, T Ballard
Royal College of General Practitioners, Nuffield Trust
December 2015

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Budgeting for balance: How hard is this going to be?

"In this paper, we look at the experience of fiscal consolidation so far, and how to approach the remainder of the task. Do we need to keep going until the deficit is literally zero, or can we get away with stopping when the deficit is back at its mid 2000 levels? Where have the savings come from so far, and what has been the impact on public services? How does the Government plan to find the rest of the savings, and how do we ensure that as many savings as possible come from increased efficiency?"

Budgeting for balance: How hard is this going to be?
J Dupont
Policy Exchange
November 2015

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Developing an ambulance commissioning strategy

"The ambulance service should develop into a mobile health provider working in multidisciplinary teams."

Developing an ambulance commissioning strategy: Five Year Forward View and beyond
NHS Clinical Commissioners
November 2015

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