Predicting hospital admission: an observational study

This study aimed to test the performance of new variants of models to identify people at risk of an emergency hospital admission.

NHS written complaints figures released

NHS organisations received more than 162,000 written complaints during 2012/13, the equivalent of over 3,000 complaints a week, according to figures released by the Health and Social Care Information Centre.

‘Care left undone’ during nursing shifts: associations with workload and perceived quality of care

This report aims to examine the nature and prevalence of care left undone by nurses in English National Health Service hospitals and to assess whether the number of missed care episodes is associated with nurse staffing levels and nurse ratings of the quality of nursing care and patient safety environment

Tool for measuring adverse events

This tool provides an easy-to-use method for accurately identifying adverse events and measuring the rate of adverse events over time. This paper provides step-by-step instructions for using the tool to accurately identify adverse events and measure the rate of adverse events over time.

Commissioning children’s palliative care: a guide for CCGs

This document describes the population of children who need palliative care; the services and professionals who provide it; and recommendations for the commissioning of children’s palliative care.

The Shared Learning collection

The Shared Learning collection on the NICE website is a portfolio of quality-assured examples of implementation of NICE guidance and the use of quality standards to change local practice

NHS England puts patient data to better use

NHS England is introducing a modern information service on behalf of the NHS called care.data. The service will use information from a patients’ medical record to improve the way that healthcare is delivered for all.

Finance managers recommend changes to NHS payments system

NHS finance managers acknowledge the benefits of payment by results (PBR) the current system governing payments, but argue that the current system is in need of reform. The findings are explained in a joint briefing by the Healthcare Finance Managers’ Association and the King’s Fund.

Variations to NHS standard contracts

NHS England has published technical guidance on the process through which commissioners can effect local variations to electronic and paper contracts

Performance data for surgeons published

Surgery-specific data has been published on the NHS Choices website.

Keogh review of hospital care

More networking to share good practice and real-time patient feedback beyond the friends and family test area among the recommendations of Sir Bruce Keogh’s report on quality and standards of care at the 14 hospital trusts identified as below the line.

Chief inspector of hospitals announces inspection plans

CQC’s new chief inspector of hospitals, Professor Sir Mike Richards is introducing radical changes to the way hospitals in England are inspected.

First results from NHS Friends and Family test published

New data from the NHS Friends and Family survey, which asks patients whether they would recommend A&E and inpatient wards to their nearest and dearest based on their own experience, has been released.

NHS England and the HSCIC launch a consultation on hospital data to raise standards and improve patient safety

The HSCIC has published NHS Hospital Data and Datasets: A Consultation for views on what information should be extracted from hospitals in future in order to raise standards, improve safety, and reduce inequalities in patient care.

New research explores association between nurse staffing levels and quality of care

Research published online in BMJ Quality and Safety, finds that ward nurses say they are forced to ration care, and not do or complete certain aspects because of time constraints.

New proposals to ensure care and compassion in the NHS and in social care

All healthcare assistants and social care support workers should undergo the same basic training, based on the best practice that already exists in the system, and must get a standard

‘Certificate of Fundamental Care’ before they can care for people unsupervised, according independent Cavendish Review,

King’s Fund on state of health and social care

The report finds that for the final quarter of 2012/13, nearly 6% of patients waited four hours or longer in A&E, the highest level since 2004.

Health workforce information review

This report sets out findings and recommendations from a review of the arrangements for handling health workforce data and intelligence. A supporting document provides links to best practice and toolkits on information governance.

Acheiving value in health systems – HFMA Right Care briefing

This briefing describes how Right Care’s approach supports the delivery of reform and improvement in a robust and systematic way, ensuring that the effort of the organisation and its partners is focused on transforming the right services to deliver improvements to patients while saving money

Putting patients at the heart of care

This briefing from the NHS Confederation highlights the experiences of some of the independent sector organisations that have looked hard at the total package of care they provide to ensure they continue to meet the changing needs and demands of their patients.