UPDATE NEWS


LOCAL NEWS CROYDON HIDES OVERSPEND


The NHS has been accused of failing to hold anyone to account over a huge overspend covered up by NHS Croydon primary care trust. A scrutiny committee appointed to investigate goings on at the trust claims that badly managed accounting allowed a deficit of millions of pounds to go undetected. In June 2011, the trust reported a £5.5m surplus when in actual fact they were in a deficit of £22.7m. The Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee said that errors were “deliberately hidden” and has called on the NHS to take action against those responsible.


Former chief executive of NHS Croydon,


Caroline Taylor, who is currently trust special administrator at South London Healthcare NHS Trust, which recently went into administration, reportedly refused to answer questions from the committee made up of members of the surrounding local authorities. Finance director Stephen O’Brien and interim deputy director of finance Mark Phillips also refused to answer questions, according to a spokesman speaking to the London Evening Standard. Phillips, a former nightclub owner, is said to have not met the qualification requirements for the role and the report urges the health authority to look into qualifications of staff involved. Committee chair, councillor Jason Cummings, said: “We now call on the Department of Health to carry out [a] rigorous investigation... The public needs to have confidence in the NHS.”


CCG app shows shocking ageing effect of smoking


A new app developed by Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust shows the potential ageing effects of smoking in graphic detail. The smartphone application was launched as part of its month-long stop-smoking campaign earlier this spring, incorporating No Smoking Day on 13 March. The app uses a photograph of the user and ages the face into what you could look like as a smoker. The photo can then be shared.


DIARY


22-23 May 2013 Primary Care 2013 NEC Birmingham PrimaryCare2013.co.uk


5-7 June 2013 NHS Confederation annual conference and exhibition Arena and Convention Centre, Liverpool Conference.nhsconfed.org


12-13 June 2013 Health+Care 2013 Excel, London Healthpluscare.co.uk


Nottingham City CCG hosts Danish exchange event


NHS Nottingham City CCG hosted a high-profile visit from 18 Danish health and social care professionals in March as part of the HOPE (Hospitals in Europe) Exchange Programme, developed to share expertise between health services internationally. Key themes of the visit were how Nottingham works to provide integrated services, reduce admissions, manage medicines, ensure high levels of quality, and involve patients in their care.


CLINICAL CORNER


MENTAL HEALTH COMMISSIONING PROGRAMME A FIRST


Thirty-one of London’s CCG mental health leaders gathered last month to share their experiences of a ground-breaking NHS England programme to support GPs com- missioning mental health services. This followed January’s launch of the


Primary Care Mental Health Leadership Development Programme, set to improve patient care and develop innovative, col- laborative, cost-efficient methods to equip staff to address the needs of Londoners with mental health conditions. Developed in partnership with UCL


Partners Academic Health Science Part- nership and led by Dr Geraldine Strathdee and training expert Glen Monks, the ten- day programme brings together national experts from a range of disciplines, with those teaching on the programme includ- ing patients and their families. Dr Strathdee, NHS England national


clinical director of mental health, said: “The creation of clinical commissioning groups is a tremendous opportunity to look at new ways of working and drive forward excellence in commissioning and delivery of services at a local and regional level. We have an exceptional group of staff in the London CCGs who are eager to not only rise to the challenge of taking on the responsibility of mental health commissioning but drive innova- tion and improve standards so that we can see a real improvement in outcomes for patients.”


81%


of healthcare professionals across the UK and Europe are investing in new technologies to be more productive and enable remote working


(Source: Ricoh)


SEND IN YOUR STORIES We are always looking for local commissioning news. If you have a story to share, email editor@intelligentmedia.co.uk.


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