Following feedback and review, this version of the standards replaces the version published in May 2012.

Following feedback and review, this version of the standards replaces the version published in May 2012.

Building on the success of last year’s event in Manchester, we are working in partnership with the Nursing Times to produce an even bigger and more successful conference for 2013.

We are busy developing another packed agenda and will hopefully have some extremely high profile speakers. The focus for the event is the implementation of Compassion in Practice – looking at new models of care and best practice in embedding the 6Cs. We will be sharing our learning on how the 6Cs and Compassion in Practice has delivered positive outcomes for patients and staff.

We will also be looking at examples of excellence in practice across Health and Social Care and how great leadership is essential to changing culture and behaviours.

The event is designed to attract an audience of up to 500 senior decision makers and nursing leaders and will be special invitation only.

This edition we focus on action Area 3 – Delivering high quality care and measuring the impact

The priorities within this area of work are:

The Hub is a web based resource that will provide a one-stop shop for nurses, midwives and care staff to access a range of tools, resources and best practice guidance. Signing up will enable you to stay up to date with news, webinars and events and share ideas and examples of excellence. The site will be launched in early July 2013.

Watch out for more information about our first 6Cs Live! Road Show event, being delivered as part of our first 6Cs Live! ‘Week of Action’. This week of action will begin on Monday 19^th August and will focus on Action Area 3, exploring measurement, transparency of care and the benefits of investing in behaviours. It will provide opportunities to engage with the experts, connect with colleagues and share excellence in practice. For more information please email the 6Cs Live team.

This conference was attended by five influential Care Makers and other NHS leaders were keen to hear about their role as ambassadors of compassionate, patient-centred care. The Care Makers were eager to talk to as many people as possible to ensure the 6Cs and Compassion in Practice message reaches the highest levels in the NHS.

Sir David Nicholson, Sir Keith Pearson, Chair of Health Education England; Jan Sobieraj, Managing Director of the NHS Leadership Academy and I were just some of the people who wanted to hear what the Care Makers had to say. The Care Makers Claire Flatt, David Smith, Matthew Bolton, Jenn Rawles and Jessica Partington also joined myself, Sir David and Marie Batey Head of Acute and Older People on the NHS England stand as well as attending workshop and speaker sessions to hear the latest strategic thinking on healthcare.

I will be leading a national two year programme for greater commissioning development and innovation in community nursing including primary care work to enable delivery of care closer to home. To be able to move care from an acute setting to home, commissioners need to have clear and robust plans for community nursing services, both now and in the future.

I will lead the programme in partnership with the Department of Health, Health Education England and the Queens Nursing Institute and we will have several key workstreams. I will update you with more detail in the next edition.

As preliminary support for this work, the Nursing Directorate at NHS England is mapping the impact of commissioning practice on community, district nursing and general practice nursing since Transforming Community Services to identify where good models of commissioning practice for this exist. Nurse commissioners can contribute to this review by contacting Stacey Mccan.

CIPOLD recognises the significant role and value of nursing in health services for those with learning disabilities and reviews care received prior to a death in hospital to support and improve achievement of high quality care. Inquiries identify contributory errors and provide evidence of good practice on avoiding premature death.

The UK steering group for Strengthening The Commitment: The Report of the UK Modernising Learning Disabilities Nursing Review are collecting examples of good practice in learning disability nursing, demonstrating how health and social care organisations are meeting the 17 recommendations of the Review. Ministers are due to receive a progress report on the implementation of the review in the Autumn. To contribute please complete this form.

Frontline health and care professionals are being invited to bid for a share of the £150,000 NHS Innovation Challenge Prize for Dementia. The competition is open to anyone working in dementia care including GPs, specialist nurses, social workers, support workers, charities and patient support groups.

The Secretary of State for Health, Professor Sir Bruce Keogh and I have launched a £260 million Technology Fund to enable doctors and nurses to access better information about patients and provide safer care. The fund will be available to NHS providers, supporting the rapid progression from paper-based systems for patient notes and prescriptions to integrated electronic care records and the development of e-prescribing and e-referral systems.

The Heatwave plan for England 2013 has been published as a joint document between NHS England, Public Health England and other partner agencies. The plan’s purpose is to enhance resilience in the event of a heatwave and to describe the actions which can be taken to protect and improve health before and during such an event.

NHS Improving Quality has published a strategic intent document which includes details of the improvement programmes it is focussing on. NHS Improving Quality improve health outcomes across England by providing improvement and change expertise, building on the success of previous NHS improvement programmes. Professionals from all disciplines who would like to share their suggestions for improving quality should get in touch.

NHS England has written to NHS Trust Medical Directors, Area Team Medical Directors and Regional Medical and Nursing Directors setting out interim arrangements for issuing Healthcare Professional Alert Notices. In the letter, the Secretary of State has directed the National Health Service Litigation Authority to operate the Healthcare Professional Alert Notices (HPAN) system from 1 April 2013. NHS organisations who wish to request the issue of an Alert Notice should notify the National Clinical Assessment Service (NCAS), part of the NHS LA.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) has replaced Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for people aged 16-64 on 8 April 2013. This means they can make new claims to PIP but not for DLA. The Department for Work and Pensions will start inviting existing DLA claimants to claim PIP from October 2013.  However, most existing claimants won’t be affected before October 2015

NHS England has promised to lead a rethink of plans to improve children’s heart surgery in England following publication of an independent report on the Safe and Sustainable Review. The review was the first national assessment of care quality for children born with a serious heart condition. An extensive consultation exercise attracted approximately 75,000 responses

The latest data published on the performance of NHS 111 in April 2013 showed the service is steadily improving and is highly rated by those who use it – 92 per cent were very or fairly satisfied with their NHS 111 experience.

NHS England has announced its vision for an improved electronic patient referral service for the NHS.  The vision for change will build on the existing Choose and Book system. This is part of NHS England’s commitment to making all referrals electronic and the NHS paperless by 2018.  The announcement kicked off an initial five-month consultation period with healthcare professionals, with further consultations planned with patients.

NHS England has published the interim specifications it has adopted for the commissioning of specialised services. The new service specifications, along with clinical commissioning policies, were the subject of a short, public consultation which ran from mid-December 2012 to February 2013. Feedback received during consultation informed the new specifications.

The leadership academy provide development programmes for people at every level of leadership responsibility, from all backgrounds and experience levels. If you are looking to develop your knowledge, skills, expertise, attitudes and behaviours then our programmes are for you. Applications close Sunday 30 June.

The Health Secretary has announced a new website ‘Longer Lives’ developed by Public Health England, providing easy access to data on how local areas are performing on premature deaths from the five major killers – cancer, stroke, heart, lung and liver disease. It aims to drive awareness and boost council action to tackle public health problems. Further data will be rolled out providing clear accessible information on how health services are performing.

On 10 June, the Government made the NBOMe and Benzofury groups of ‘legal highs’ illegal for up to 12 months under a Temporary Class Drug Order, while independent experts, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, assess whether they should be permanently controlled. The Council’s report contains further information, including the pharmacology and toxicology of these drugs.

This letter about the flu immunisation programme for winter 2013/14 outlines the second phase of increases for take up of the flu jab. Last year the NHS was asked to plan a three year trajectory to increase flu immunisation and this year health professionals will be asked to reach or exceed a 75% take up in over 65s and at risk groups.

This document and accompanying letter from Ann Sutton, Director of Commissioning (Corporate) outlines how sexual assault service commissioning arrangements will improve outcomes for patients whilst reducing inconsistency and duplication in the system. NHS England will work together with police forces and local authorities to provide an integrated service.

The Electronic Palliative Care Coordination System provides a shared locality record for health and social care professionals. It allows rapid access across care boundaries, to key information about an individual approaching the end of life, including their expressed care preferences, putting more control in the individuals’ hands.

The results of the General Medical Council’s 2013 national training survey which helps local education providers such as hospitals and general practices improve their training are now available. A record 97.7% of doctors in training shared their views, and overall trainees are satisfied with their training experience despite concerns about long hours and handover arrangements before and after night duty.

The Department of Health, in partnership with NHS England, are holding five events to discuss the response to the Francis Report. These events bring together insight from local conversations and national work to develop and implement a system-wide response to Francis.

With an opening presentation from Dr Masood Nazir Clinical Informatics Advisor, NHS England, this conference looks at moving forward with Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration (EPMA) in a hospital setting as part of becoming paperless. A 20% discount is available.

Bob Ricketts, director of commissioning support, strategy and market development for NHS England will outline the vision for service transformation. Speakers and case studies will provide insight as to how to commission services to deliver genuine transformation, and how providers can drive forward this agenda.

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The government is committed to introducing a new dental contract based on registration, capitation and quality, with the aim of improving oral health and increasing access to NHS dentists.

The regulations governing stage 2 are published on the legislation site.